Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (1998-2005), who had previously distanced himself from the war, nevertheless intervened in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, flew to Moscow on March 10 and held the first talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin there, writes the German newspaper Die Welt.
The meeting between Schroeder and Putin ended on Thursday evening, but the details of the discussion have not yet been disclosed.. Schroeder's wife, Soen Schroeder-Kim, subsequently posted on Instagram a photo of herself praying in front of the Kremlin..
Schroeder has come under fire at home and abroad for refusing to sever his close ties to Moscow in the aftermath of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.. Even several of his office staff quit last week after he insisted on keeping his top positions at Kremlin-linked energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom..
Gerhard Schroeder, ex-chancellor and current lobbyist for Russian energy companies, allegedly wants to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace in the conflict with Ukraine, American Politico writes.. Schroeder's visit to Moscow follows talks in Istanbul with a Ukrainian politician who is a member of Ukraine's delegation to talks with Russia, according to a detailed account of the initiative provided to Politico by a person involved..
“Ukraine wanted to see if Schroeder could build a bridge for dialogue with Putin,” the source said..
According to Politico, the trip was organized by a Kyiv politician. On Monday, the Schroeder-Kims traveled to Istanbul for the first time, where the former chancellor met with the Ukrainian delegation. His subsequent request to meet with Putin was reportedly answered positively within ten minutes.. On Wednesday, Schroeder and Schroeder-Kim were flown to Moscow on a Russian plane..
Last week, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, suggested that Schroeder might try to mediate between Moscow and Kiev..
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According to his own statements, Melnik knew nothing about the alleged mediation attempt.. He was not aware of any Schroeder trip, he told the German press agency on Thursday.. And further: “I find it hard to imagine my government asking Schroeder about this.”.
However, a week ago, in an interview, Melnik supported Schroeder's attempt to mediate.
“He is one of the few people here in Germany who can still have a direct connection with Mr. Putin..
Nobody in Germany and other European countries has this,” Melnik told Bild.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment on Schroeder's visit to Moscow.
“I don’t want to comment on this,” the SPD politician answered a question on the sidelines of the EU summit in Versailles, France.
In his company, the trip was perceived with caution.. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil said on the ZDF program Maybrit Illner: " In any case, every conversation situation is something reasonable.”.