“Fatal mistake”: Putin’s friend Schroeder is confident that he will agree on peace in Ukraine – media

Gerhard Schröder, former Federal Chancellor of Germany (1998-2005), hopes to negotiate peace thanks to his 20-year friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The politician recalls trying to negotiate peace in 2014. In 2024, his friendship with the Kremlin chief will help end the war. Schröder expressed confidence in the possibility of reaching an agreement with Putin in an interview written in the Tagesschau publication.

Schroeder reminded reporters that he has long maintained friendly relations with the President of the Russian Federation. The former chancellor therefore hopes that this will help reach an agreement on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Maybe this could still help find a solution through negotiations, I don’t see any other solution,” the interlocutor was quoted as saying by journalists.

In the past, the politician agreed that Russia’s attack on Ukraine was a “fatal mistake”. The publication also emphasized that he had “not renounced” his relationship with Putin. For example, the German continued to be a lobbyist for the Gazprom company, which built the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea: he was a member of the board of directors.

Important

In another part of the interview, Schröder was asked why he continued to be “friends” with the Kremlin leader who caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people. In response, the politician explained that “there is another dimension.” He also detailed the content of the proposal for peace negotiations. According to him, France and Germany should insist on peace. At the same time, one of the countries should not suffer a complete defeat – it is not specified which country we are talking about.

Gerhard Schröder is an 80-year-old German politician (born 7 April 1944), a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The politician was Federal Chancellor from 1998 to 2005. It was later learned that he was on the board of directors of the Russian company Gazprom and was a shareholder of Nord Stream AG, which built the Baltic gas pipeline.

The ZDF portal provided details of Schröder’s life. He tried to be a mediator in peace talks, especially when Russia’s hybrid invasion of Ukraine began in 2014, but nothing came of it. This initiative took place just as the politician was celebrating his 70th birthday in Russia.

“In 2014, shortly after Russia annexed Crimea, the former chancellor celebrated with Putin at the reception of Nord Stream AG at the Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg,” the journalists wrote.

The long-term ties of friendship are evidenced by the German politician’s previous anniversary: ​​”On Schröder’s 60th birthday, Putin arrived in Hanover with a Cossack choir,” reports ZDF.

Peace negotiations – details

It should also be noted that after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, President Vladimir Putin said that the aim of the war was the “Nazification and demilitarization” of Ukraine. After this, for example, in the trial peace talks held in Minsk and Istanbul, Kremlin representatives stated that Ukraine should accept the loss of territory and disarm. At the same time, President Vladimir Zelensky proposed his own peace plan, under which the Russian Federation would secede from the occupied territories and pay compensation.

It became known that in 2024 the Kremlin intends to carry out a new wave of mobilization and launch a new attack on Kharkov or another Ukrainian city. At the same time, Russian politicians continue to declare from time to time that the Russian Federation is ready to negotiate peace, but only on its own terms. At the same time, according to media reports, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying to pressure Ukraine to force “peace”.