ASTANA, May 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he named Gerhard Schroder as a preferred candidate to negotiate with Moscow on the part of the EU, because he is a man, who can be trusted.

"When I named Mr. Schroder, I meant that this is a man, who can be trusted," he said.

"Yes, we are friends, why should we hide this? Is there anything bad about this? It brings about a certain degree of trust," the Russian leader explained.