ASTANA, May 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he considers former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a friend.

"People are labeling him all sorts of things, saying he’s my friend and so on. Yes, we are friends. Is that some kind of big secret? What’s wrong with that? Is that really so bad? Well, it does inspire a certain amount of trust," he told reporters.

According to Putin, despite being friends with him, Schroeder always focused on his country’s interests. "Despite our friendship, he always, let me underscore this – I want this to be known both here and in Germany, defended the national interests of the German people and the German state," the Russian president stated.

He noted that after he said that he views Schroeder as a preferable candidate for potential talks with Russia, some in Europe supported the idea. "They reacted. I saw their reaction. There were both positive and negative reactions. But there were positive ones, too," he added.