BERLIN, June 11. /TASS/. Europe missed the chance to negotiate with Russia in 2021, despite attempts by the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel to maintain the thread of dialogue, Germany’s ex-top diplomat Sigmar Gabriel (2017-2018) told Bild in an interview.

"Let me remind you that the last European Council meeting Angela Merkel attended was in 2021. That was before the war broke out. At that time, Angela Merkel told her colleagues, ‘We need to put together a small group and negotiate with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’," Gabriel said. However, he continued, the former German Chancellor "was heavily criticized in the media and received hardly any support."

"The truth is, she was right. That was the last time we had a chance to negotiate ourselves. When we failed to seize that opportunity, when the Europeans took themselves out of the game - then, so to speak, the US took over the leadership," the ex-top diplomat argued.

According to Gabriel, "the Europeans would be foolish not to try to get their foot" in negotiations with Russia. He named Merkel and Finnish President Alexander Stubb as possible mediators in dialogue with Russia. When the reporter pointed out that Merkel had already rejected such a role, Gabriel said he would be surprised if the Europeans asked her and she said no. The Europeans now need to "sit down and decide who gets the negotiating mandate," he concluded.