Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has come under fire after suggesting that Poland and the Baltic states were partially to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Dr Merkel said that Polish and Baltic opposition to EU negotiations with Vladimir Putin in 2021 played a part in Russia's "aggression" the following year.

The ex-Chancellor told Partizan: “In June 2021, I felt that Putin was no longer taking the Minsk Agreement seriously, and that’s why I wanted a new format where we could speak directly with Putin as the European Union.

“Not everyone supported this, above all the Baltic states, but Poland was also against it."

Dr Merkel said that Polish and Baltic opposition to EU negotiations with Vladimir Putin in 2021 played a part in Russia's 'aggression'

Dr Merkel added that she felt those states were "afraid" that an EU-wide consensus on how to deal with Russia would not be agreed on.

She added: “In any case, it did not happen, I left office, and then Putin’s aggression began."

The former leader of Germany's centre-right CDU party conducted the interview while visiting Hungary's pro-Putin PM Viktor Orban.

The ex-Chancellor, who has been accused of appeasing Russia by critics and former allies alike, also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the invasion of Ukraine.

DR Merkel said those states were 'afraid' that an EU-wide consensus on how to deal with Russia would not be agreed on

She cited the lack of face-to-face meetings between EU figures and Mr Putin thanks to lockdowns, adding: “If you cannot meet, if you cannot discuss differences face to face, you won’t find new compromises.”

Dr Merkel's comments have sparked fury in Warsaw, which has long-accused Germany of complacency towards Russia.

Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki labelled the former German leader's interview "thoughtless", adding that she "proved that she is at the forefront of the most harmful German politicians to Europe in the last century".

The comments come at a time when Germany's relationship with Poland is already under pressure.

Ex-Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki slammed the former German leader's interview as 'thoughtless'

Current Chancellor Friedrich Merz sparked outrage after he scaled up German migrant checks, which meant asylum seekers were ending up back in Poland.

Polish communities on the border feared the migrants would be stuck in their towns - and groups of vigilante patrols were set up to protect the frontier with Germany.

Rumours also circled in the summer that German police vans were dropping illegal migrants off on the Polish side of the border.

Ex-Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Kariņs said on Monday that many EU member states, including Germany, were naive to the threat posed by Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Dr Merkel, long accused of appeasing Vladimir Putin, has claimed her neighbours were at fault for the war

Mr Karins said: “I consistently told her that you cannot deal with Putin ‘in good faith,’ but she believed that the Baltic states were wrong.

"I was well aware of Merkel’s views, but I am astonished that after everything that has happened in Ukraine, she still thinks this way."

"Putin acts the way he acts, and the only options for the West are either to submit or to resist.

"It is surprising that the former German Chancellor would say something like this today, when it should be obvious to everyone what kind of regime Russia is."