Austria's former vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache said that statements made by Germany's former chancellor Angela Merkel about the true goals of the Minsk agreements scare European politicians and undermine confidence in them.
The politician was speaking at a round-table meeting in Vienna and added that Merkel's candor when she said that the purpose of the Minsk agreements was to give Ukraine time to prepare for a military scenario was "frightening".
"This is how we destroy any basis for trust," he said.
Earlier, in an interview with German media, Merkel said that the Minsk agreements gave Ukraine time for itself and to become stronger. In her opinion, all parties to the agreements understood that the conflict in Ukraine was only suspended, and the underlying problem remained unresolved.
The Minsk agreements are a package of measures to de-escalate the situation in Donbass negotiated from 2014 to 2015. The second package of these agreements was signed within the so-called Normandy format, involving France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of violating the deal.