Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told the New York Times today that he would step down from his position in the Russian energy giants if Moscow cut off gas supplies to Europe. As for the atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Butcha, he notes that “they should be investigated”, but he does not believe that they were ordered by the Russian president, who, as he says, “is interested in ending the war, but it is not so easy.” ». He called the war “wrong”, said he was again willing to mediate for peace, and said sanctions imposed by the West “would not be sustainable in the long run”.
“Once the war is over, we will trade with Russia again,” Schroeder told the New York Times in his first interview since the start of the war in Ukraine. “You can not isolate a country like Russia for a long time, neither politically nor economically,” he said. “German industry needs the raw materials that Russia has, not just oil or gas, but also rare earths – these raw materials can not be easily replaced,” Schroeder said.
Gerhard Schroeder offers through his interview in the American newspaper, to mediate for the end of the war. “I have always represented German interests. I do my best. “At least one side trusts me,” he said, referring to the need for a peaceful solution as soon as possible. “I think this war was a mistake and I always said it,” he said.
The former chancellor already traveled to Moscow in March to talk to Vladimir Putin. Without revealing details of his talks, he said: “Putin is interested in ending the war, but it is not so easy, as there are some points that need to be clarified.” According to the report, Gerhard Schroeder met in Moscow with both the Russian president and his adviser Vladimir Medinsky, and the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. The initiative for the trip came from the Ukrainian side, Mr. Schroeder explains, and the contact was made through the Swiss publishing company Ringier, with which the former chancellor collaborated. Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov briefed him on Kiev’s positions in Istanbul, and after the trip to Moscow, a new meeting took place between the two men. Then the contact was cut off. “But I’m ready to talk to both sides again,” Schroeder said.
As for his positions in the Russian energy giants, Gerhard Schroeder can, he says, imagine that he would resign if the Russian president cut off gas supplies to Germany and the EU. “It is not going to happen. “But if it happens, I will resign,” he said, without specifying from which position. However, Mr. Schroeder did not answer the question whether he intends to accept the post at Gazprom for which he has been proposed by the Kremlin.
The newspaper headlines the interview “The former chancellor who became Putin’s man in Germany” and notes that “Gerhard Schroeder, who is paid one million euros a year by Russian energy companies, has become a pariah, but also symbolizes the Germany’s policy towards Russia “.
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