Apparently, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder can only imagine resigning from his post at Russian energy companies if Russian President Vladimir Putin cuts off gas to Germany and the European Union. In an interview with the New York Times published on Saturday, he said that if it got to that point, “I would resign.” However, he didn’t explicitly say which post he was referring to.
“This will not happen”
However, Schröder stated that he did not expect such a scenario: “It will not happen”. Schröder is the head of the supervisory board at Russian state energy giant Rosneft, and more recently has also worked for the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipeline companies. Russian attack on Ukraine. Four SPD associations therefore requested a party exclusion process against Schröder.
Russian energy giant Gazprom also appointed Schröder to a supervisory board position in early February – just before the Russian attack on Ukraine. The Ordinary General Meeting is scheduled for June 30. According to the New York Times, Schröder left it open in the interview whether he would accept the nomination.
First interview since the invasion of Ukraine
According to the American newspaper, he spoke twice with the former chancellor and leader of the SPD in his hometown of Hanover. It is the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine that Putin’s longtime friend has spoken out in an interview.
Schröder said he was ready again to mediate the war in Ukraine. “I have always represented German interests. I am doing what I can. At least one side trusts me,” the former SPD leader and current lobbyist for Russian energy companies told the New York Times. A peaceful solution must now be reached as soon as possible. “I think this war was a mistake and I always said that.”
Schröder traveled to Moscow in March to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to his own statements, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was not informed about the trip. Schröder, 78, did not comment on the details of the conversation with Putin in the interview and only revealed this: “What I can say is that Putin is interested in ending the war. But this is not so easy. clarified.”
According to the report, Schröder met Putin in the Kremlin and sat with him — like Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron a few weeks earlier — at a now-famous twenty-foot-long table. He also spoke with Putin adviser Vladimir Medinsky and oligarch Roman Abramovich in Moscow.
According to Schröder, the initiative for the trip to Moscow came from the Ukrainian side, and the contact was made by the Swiss media company Ringier. Ukrainian parliamentarian Rustem Umerov briefed him on Ukrainian positions at a meeting in Istanbul before the trip to Moscow. After the conversation with Putin, there was another meeting with Umerow in the Turkish metropolis. After that, contact was stopped. Schröder told the New York Times he was ready to talk to both sides again.
He advocated maintaining relations with Russia despite the war of aggression against Ukraine. “You cannot isolate a country like Russia in the long run, either politically or economically,” he said. “German industry needs raw materials that Russia has. It’s not just oil and gas, it’s also rare earths. And these are raw materials that cannot be easily replaced.”
Editorial Notes: Schröder’s quotes were published in English only by the New York Times and translated into German by dpa.