BERLIN, August 3. /TASS/. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (served from 1998 till 2005) has ruled out the severing of relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the backdrop of the current events in Ukraine. He was speaking in an interview with Stern magazine published on Wednesday.
At the same time, Schroeder recalled that he had repeatedly criticized what was happening in Ukraine. "But will personal distancing from Vladimir Putin benefit anyone?" he asked. "Do I have to jump over every stick they put in my way? I'm not like that. I've made decisions and I stand by them. I've made it clear that I can be useful again. So why should I apologize?" Schroeder said.
At the same time, he remarked that he was receiving many letters from Germany saying: "It's good that there still is someone who maintains open channels of communication with Russia in the context of the current conflict." Schroeder also said he was impressed by the possible economic sanctions the European Union might impose on him, but added that "there are still judges in Germany who can ensure that it doesn't come to that."
Asked if the sanctions could limit his economic activities and whether he would go financially incapable soon, Schroeder said: "I don't know. But apart from the [bank account] Sparkasse in Hannover, I still don't have any accounts and it can be controlled." In conclusion, he recalled that he had quit his seat on the supervisory board of the Russian company Rosneft and rejected the offer of a lucrative position at Gazprom. "I wanted to protect my family. What they are doing in their attempts to impose sanctions is beyond imagination," Schroeder concluded.
In Germany, Schroeder is being rebuked for close ties with Russia. Earlier, the budget committee of the Bundestag approved the ruling parties’ demand for stripping the ex-chancellor of some of his privileges, which, in accordance with the law, are financed with taxpayers’ money. The Schroeder Bureau will no longer be financed from the budget and the payment of salaries to its employees will stop. At the same time, the ex-chancellor's monthly pension, which all former heads of government are entitled to remains. So does the right to personal bodyguards.
About Schroeder's trip to Moscow
Earlier, Der Spiegel magazine cited sources as saying that Schroeder had arrived in Moscow for energy policy talks. According to the sources, gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline will be central to the negotiations in Moscow. At the same time, Der Spiegel says, it remains unclear with whom exactly the former German chancellor will meet in the Russian capital.
Schroeder's wife Seo Yeon Schroeder-Kim confirmed to the magazine that the purpose of his visit is to negotiate energy. At the same time, the ex-chancellor told reporters in Moscow that he was "on vacation."
"He is not on vacation, he is negotiating energy policies in Moscow," So-Yong Kim-Schroeder said in turn. Later, in an interview with Stern, Schroeder claimed that he had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow.
Last time the former German chancellor officially visited Moscow in March for talks with Putin on the situation in Ukraine. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Schroeder, as far as the Kremlin knows, is in Moscow. Meetings with the Russian leader, he said, are not yet scheduled, but contacts are not ruled out.
The Kremlin spokesman also said that now Putin and Schroeder maintain contacts "less actively" than during his tenure as Germany’s chancellor.