German Official Dismisses Putin’s Schröder Talks Proposal

A German official has dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder could coordinate talks with the European Union to secure a peace deal in Ukraine.

European Council President António Costa recently said he believed there was “potential” for the EU to negotiate with Russia and discuss the future of Europe’s security architecture. Putin later named Schröder as his preferred mediator if such talks were to take place.

The German official said the offer was not credible because Russia had not changed any of its conditions, adding that an initial test would be whether Moscow was willing to extend a three-day ceasefire.

The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Putin had made a series of bogus offers aimed at dividing the Western alliance.

After leaving office in 2005, Schröder almost immediately took a job as chairman of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline consortium and has faced heavy criticism in Germany for his closeness to Putin.

Separately, a German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin saw no signs Moscow was interested in serious negotiations and added that any talks with the European Union would need to be closely coordinated with member states and Ukraine.

(reuters, max)