Ex-German chancellor in Moscow for talks with Putin – media
Gerhard Schroeder, who served as German chancellor from 1998 until 2005, has arrived in Moscow and is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Politico claimed on Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
If the report is anything to go by, the German politician is going to try to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Schroeder’s visit, if confirmed, would come off the back of a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Antalya on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a criminal complaint has been filed in Germany against the former chancellor in connection with possible “crimes against humanity,” Badische Neueste Nachrichten newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Kathrin Soefker, a spokesperson for Hanover’s prosecutor’s office, told journalists that the criminal complaint against the former chancellor and several other individuals had come in last week. The official also said that Hanover prosecutors “forwarded the files to the Federal Public Prosecutor” on Monday.
Cases involving international criminal law fall under the remit of the federal body, the paper notes. The Federal Public Prosecutor is also responsible for crimes against the state, such as treason.
Among the cases the German authority is currently looking into are possible war crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine. German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann earlier confirmed to the media that prosecutors were going to “collect and secure all evidence of war crimes.” The official also described Russia’s military offensive in the Eastern European country as a “serious violation of international law that cannot be justified by anything.”
Responding to journalists’ requests for comment on the Schroeder case, a representative for Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor said she could not disclose any details, as the federal office “briefs the public regularly only in the case of arrests, criminal charges as well as major searches.” The official added that the Federal Public Prosecutor “does not, as a matter of course, reveal if it is or was looking into a case.”
Since the start of Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine on February 24, Schroeder has been under growing pressure over his refusal to step down from his posts at several major Russian energy companies. The politician serves as the chair of Nord Stream 2 AG’s administrative board, as well as the chief of the supervisory board at Russia’s Rosneft oil company. Moreover, in early February, the former German chancellor was nominated to join the supervisory board at Russia’s Gazprom – a major supplier of natural gas to Europe.
Schroeder has never made a secret of his friendship with President Vladimir Putin.
While the ex-chancellor denounced the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, and called for an end to the war, he also noted that NATO, too, had made mistakes in the way it had treated Russia.
Schroeder’s closeness to the Russian leadership and businesses saw his entire staff of four walk out on him last week, with some in Germany calling for the politician to be stripped of the benefits and pension he enjoys as an ex-chancellor.
