“We worked together sensibly for many years. It may still prove useful to reach a negotiated solution. I see no other way,” the former chancellor said.
Asked why he continues to maintain friendly relations with the Russian dictator, despite thousands of people killed and Russian war crimes in Ukraine, Schroeder said: “It is true that this is a dimension that is different.”
At one time it seemed that this personal relationship could be useful in solving an extremely difficult political problem.
“And that’s why I think it would be completely wrong to forget all the positive things that happened between us in the past. It’s not my style and I don’t do it,” explained the former chancellor.
Schroeder recalled his March 2022 mission shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when, as the ex-chancellor said, he first met in Istanbul with the then member of the Ukrainian Parliament, the current Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, and then went to Moscow for talks with Putin.
This initiative failed.
Today, Schroeder supports new mediation efforts at the governmental level.
“France and Germany should take the initiative. It is obvious that this war cannot end with the total defeat of one side or the other,” the ex-chancellor said.
Tags: German chancellor Schroeder admits friendship Putin contribute war
