Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder believes that Russia's international isolation cannot be maintained for long. Schroeder expressed this opinion in an interview with The New York Times (NYT), published on Saturday, April 23, DW reports..

" " It's not just about oil and gas, but also about rare earth [metals]. This is a raw material that is not easy to replace," The peace and prosperity of Germany and Europe will always depend on dialogue with the Russian Federation, he believes.

In an interview with the NYT, Gerhard Schroeder also said under what circumstances he would step down as chairman of the board of directors of the Russian oil and gas company Rosneft.. According to the former head of the German Cabinet, this will happen if Moscow stops oil and gas supplies to Europe.

" However, in such a scenario, "

" We always do this,"

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The leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) earlier sent a letter to the former Chancellor of Germany, in which he demanded that he resign as soon as possible from all positions held by him in Russian state-owned companies.. This was announced on March 3 by co-chairman of the party Lars Klingbeil..

" According to him, Schroeder is "

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The ex-Chancellor of Germany has been heading the supervisory board of directors of the state oil company Rosneft since 2017.. In addition, he is Chairman of the Shareholders' Committee of Nord Stream AG, operator of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and also holds a similar position at Nord Stream 2 AG, operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.. In early February, it became known that Gerhard Schroeder was nominated to the board of directors of the Russian state concern Gazprom..

Gerhard Schroder has long been criticized for his proximity to the Kremlin and is considered a longtime friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.. After the start of the war in Ukraine, pressure on the former chancellor intensified, he was required to distance himself from Putin.

On the day of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation - February 24 - the ex-chancellor publicly called on Moscow to put an end to the war and " "

Lars Klingbeil, who used to have a close relationship with the ex-Chancellor of Germany, said that now the friendship is over. "

At the congress of the Free Democratic Party on April 23, together with the SPD and the Soyuz-90 / Greens, which is part of the ruling coalition, it was decided to appeal to the German Cabinet with a demand to minimize state funding for the ex-chancellor in connection with his "