‘I was right about Russia’ – ex-German chancellor
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder defended his policies and general approach towards Russia in an interview with the German broadcaster RTL.
The former head of the government said he still believes everything he did politically in relation to Russia was right and no one should expect him to turn his back on Moscow.
One can “criticize what I have done or just leave it [be] but do not expect me to renounce [Russian President Vladimir Putin],” Schroeder told RTL in an interview recorded in April. Too many things are already “being renounced at the moment,” he added.
He also said that public criticism of his position on Russia “does not really hurt” him since he believes everything he did in this regard was right. RTL interviewed the politician as part of a documentary on the former editor-in-chief of Bild, Kai Diekmann, after a series of sex scandals at the tabloid. Bild repeatedly reported unfavorably on Schroeder in its articles.
“That’s my life,” Schroeder said regarding Bild’s reporting, adding that no one “will dictate how I should live.”
Schroeder forged friendly relations with Russia during his time in office between 1998 and 2005. Later, he joined the boards of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline operator and Rosneft energy giant. The politician faced backlash over his ties to Moscow after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted in February 2022.
He has repeatedly spoken out against the Russian military operation in Ukraine, but maintains that distancing himself from Moscow would hardly “do any good.” He also traveled to the Russian capital to personally meet with Putin shortly after the operation was launched.
Since then, Schroeder has repeatedly stated that Moscow is seeking a negotiated solution to the conflict and said he would keep seeking “opportunities to talk to President Putin.”
His stance put him at odds with his Social Democratic Party. Some of its members unsuccessfully demanded his expulsion earlier this year. The former chancellor was stripped of parliamentary privileges in 2022.
