Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow
In an interview, he said that he would not interrupt relations with the Russian president.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow in late July. He announced this in an interview with Stern magazine and n-tv.
Schroeder said that the fighting in Ukraine cannot be stopped without negotiations and noted that Moscow is ready for a dialogue with Kyiv.
Also in an interview, Schroeder called the conduct of the so-called special military operation on the territory of Ukraine “a mistake of the Russian government”, but expressed his conviction that “concessions from both sides” are needed to resolve the conflict.
Speaking about his friendship with Putin, Schroeder ruled out that there could be discord between them. According to the former chancellor, his personal distancing from Vladimir Putin will not benefit anyone.
It is worth recalling that since 2017, Gerhard Schroeder has headed the board of directors of Rosneft. After the outbreak of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, Schroeder retained his post in the Russian company, because of which he was severely criticized in Germany. On May 20, it became known about the resignation of his powers. In addition, Schroeder withdrew his consent to the nomination of his candidacy to the board of directors of Gazprom.
It should be noted that due to friendship with Russia, the German parliament deprived Gerhard Schroeder of some privileges that he enjoyed as a former chancellor. In particular, he was deprived of an office in parliament and employees whose activities were paid for from the budget.
Gerhard Schroeder was the head of the German government from 1998-2005. After that, he worked in projects related to Russia: in addition to the board of directors of Rosneft, he also led the committee of shareholders of Nord Stream AG.