Putin meets former German Chancellor Schroeder, Kremlin says
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Russian President Vladimir Putin held a private meeting in Moscow with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a longtime associate of the Russian leader, the Kremlin said June 5.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the meeting as "good and friendly," according to Russian state news agencies.
"The discussion was friendly. It was in the form of a tete-a-tete, one on one," Ushakov was quoted as saying. "I honestly don't know any of the details. It took place in Moscow, in the Kremlin."
Ushakov also told reporters that Russian officials maintain numerous unofficial contacts and suggested that many such interactions occur outside public view.
"I can well imagine that there are a lot of informal contacts and we simply don't know about them," he said, according to the agencies.
The meeting comes weeks after Putin floated Schroeder as a potential European mediator in peace talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine, a suggestion that was swiftly rejected by both Brussels and Kyiv.
"First, if we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, that would not be very wise," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
Kallas also questioned Schroeder's impartiality, noting his longstanding business ties to Russia.
"It is clear why (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants him to be the person so that actually he would be sitting on both sides of the table," she said.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha likewise rejected the proposal, saying Kyiv "definitely (does) not support such a candidacy."
Schroeder served as Germany's chancellor from 1998 to 2005. After leaving office, he took senior positions at Russian state-controlled energy companies, including oil giant Rosneft, while maintaining a close personal relationship with Putin.
Those ties have made Schroeder a controversial figure in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, particularly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
