The German federal government has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to appoint former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) as mediator in the war in Ukraine. Government sources told n-tv channel on Sunday that the move was “part of a series of fake offers” and part of Russia’s well-known hybrid strategy. The negotiation option would not be credible, Moscow having not modified its conditions. A first test of credibility would be, according to the government, an extension of the truce.
CHRISTOPH SOEDER / KEYSTONE
After the victory parade in Moscow, Putin declared that he would prioritize discussions with Schröder “among all European political leaders”. Europe had to be present at the table during possible negotiations, it was added in Berlin. For this, however, the conditions had to be met. The former chancellor’s office said in response to a request from the German news agency dpa that Schröder would not comment on the matter.
Within the SPD, the proposal was partly received with openness. The foreign policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Adis Ahmetović, told the magazine “Spiegel†that each offer had to be examined to determine “how reliable it is†. Europe should not accept that only the United States and Russia decide the future of Ukraine. SPD politician Ralf Stegner also spoke out in favor of at least a review of Putin’s plan.
Criticism, however, came from the former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth. The SPD leader called the initiative in the “Tagesspiegel” “an affront to the United States” and warned that a mediator “could not just be Putin’s friend.” The deciding factor was whether Ukraine would accept such a role. FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann was also skeptical. The president of the BSW, Fabio De Masi, however, declared himself in favor of this idea, saying: “We should appeal to the former chancellor.”
