Germany has rejected Vladimir Putin’s proposal for former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to mediate negotiations with the EU regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Details
According to Reuters, on Sunday, May 10, Germany rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to appoint former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as coordinator of negotiations with the European Union on a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Schroeder is widely regarded as being close to Putin.
President of the European Council Antonio Costa recently said that, in his opinion, the EU has the “potential” to negotiate with Russia. He also believes the bloc could discuss the future architecture of European security. Commenting on the possibility of such talks, Putin said that Schroeder would be the best mediator.
A German official told Reuters that the proposal does not inspire confidence. According to the official, Russia has not changed the conditions it has expressed previously. The first test, he said, should be whether Moscow is willing to extend the three-day ceasefire. One anonymous official believes Putin is making false proposals in an attempt to divide the Western alliance.
On May 8, a spokesperson for the German government said Berlin does not see Russia as genuinely interested in participating in serious negotiations. The spokesperson also stressed that it is important to coordinate any negotiations with the EU with all member states as well as with Ukraine.
Who Is Schroeder
Gerhard Schroeder is a former German chancellor and currently serves as chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party. He has longstanding ties to Russia and maintained those connections after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Previously, he publicly claimed that Russia had legitimately annexed Crimea. He also called for sanctions against the aggressor state to be lifted.
After the liberation of the Kyiv region, Schroeder stated that Putin did not take part in the killings in Bucha. He claimed that military commanders had ordered the murders locally.
Since 2017, Schroeder served as chairman of the board of directors of the Russian oil company Rosneft. He later headed the board of what Reuters described as a “controversial German-Russian gas pipeline consortium.”
In May 2022, the European Parliament called for sanctions against the former German chancellor because of his ties to Russia. Afterward, Schroeder announced that he would step down from the company’s board of directors.
Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported that Putin said he was ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the territory of a third country. He also accused Ukraine of disrupting a prisoner exchange. Putin threatened Armenia with a so-called “Ukrainian scenario” over its course toward European integration.
