Status: 03/11/2022 12:29 p.m
With his visit to Moscow and a meeting with Putin, former Chancellor Schröder has apparently become a mediator in the Ukraine war. In his homeland, however, skepticism remains high.
The city of Hanover – regardless of the alleged peace initiative of the former chancellor – wants to stick to the procedure for depriving Schröder of his honorary citizenship. “Gerhard Schröder missed the last exit,” said CDU parliamentary group leader Felix Semper to the NDR in Lower Saxony. The SPD in City Hall is also sticking with it: as long as Schröder continues to be the head of the supervisory board at the Russian company Rosneft, he will continue to be part of the war machine, said parliamentary group leader Lars Kelich. Only when the ex-chancellor actually cuts all ties to the Russian economy could it be reassessed.
Marktkirche: No anti-war artwork with Schröder as a sponsor
The board of directors of the Marktkirche also sees no reason to withdraw its decision to put the installation of the “Reformation window” donated by Schröder on hold. Pastor Marc Blessing said anything that ends the war would be good. But: An anti-war work of art in the church with Schröder as a sponsor is no longer conceivable.
DFB revokes Schröder’s honorary membership
Because of Schröder’s proximity to Putin, his business relationships with Russian state-owned companies and his cautious reaction to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the German Football Association (DFB) has also drawn consequences: Schröder has to give up honorary membership because he is not clear about Russia’s actions I distanced myself from President Vladimir Putin and did not draw any business conclusions. The association announced this on Friday. The former chancellor holds posts at the natural gas pipeline companies Nord Stream 1 and 2. He is head of the supervisory board at the Russian oil company Rosneft. The second division football team Hannover 96 had also announced that they would consider expelling the former chancellor from the club. A decision has not yet been made.
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No confirmation from the Kremlin
So far there has been no official confirmation of a meeting between Putin and Schröder. A Kremlin spokesman said on Friday, according to the Interfax agency, that he had no information about Schröder. It was announced on Thursday that Schröder had traveled to Moscow. According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), a first meeting between Schröder and Putin took place on Thursday evening. Contents are not yet known. It was initially unclear whether further meetings were planned. Had that before Magazine “Politico” and the “Bild” newspaper reported on Schröder’s visit.
Has the Ukrainian side asked Schröder to mediate?
According to “Politico”, Schröder is to act as a mediator in order to talk to Putin about ending the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible. However, there was no confirmation of this at first. According to reports, the Ukrainian side asked Schröder to mediate. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, suggested a week ago that Social Democrat Schröder should mediate between Ukraine and Russia. According to his own statements, however, he has no knowledge of the alleged mediation attempt by the former chancellor. Melnyk told the dpa: “I can hardly imagine that my government asked Schröder to do this.”
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Government apparently not informed
The federal government had previously stated that the trip had not been agreed with her. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said on the sidelines of the EU summit in Versailles: “I don’t want to comment on that.” SPD party leader On Thursday evening, Lars Klingbeil was cautiously positive about Schröder’s trip to Moscow. “Everything that helps to end this terrible war is welcome,” he said on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”. We’ll see if it’s of any use. He also knew nothing about the meeting. Schröder is neither on behalf of the SPD nor on behalf of the federal government, said Klingbeil.
Journey via Istanbul to Moscow
Schröder’s wife Soyeon Schröder-Kim posted a photo of herself with her hands clasped and her eyes closed on Instagram on Thursday evening, with St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square in the background. According to dpa information, Schröder and Schröder-Kim traveled to Moscow via Istanbul.
Schröder-Kim wrote on Instagram on Saturday: “You can be sure that whatever my husband can do to help end the war, he will do it, regardless of the ultimatums of the SPD or other organizations such as the DFB. “
Kiev politicians are said to have arranged meetings
According to “Politico”, the trip was arranged by a Kiev politician. He is said to have contacted Schröder through the CEO of the Swiss publishing house Ringier, Marc Walder, to inform him that the Ukrainian government would like to see him as a mediator. On Monday, the Schröder-Kim couple first traveled to Istanbul, where the former Chancellor met a Ukrainian delegation. His subsequent request for a meeting with Putin is said to have been answered positively within ten minutes. Schröder and Schröder-Kim were then taken to Moscow on a Russian plane on Wednesday.
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