“I very much hope that the saber-rattling in Ukraine will finally stop,” he said on the podcast “The Agenda”.
“Because what I hear there, including accusations against Germany for the reasonable cancellation of arms deliveries, sometimes knocks the bottom out of the barrel,” said Schröder. At the same time, the former SPD leader accused Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) of provocation by Russia because she visited Ukraine before her first visit to Moscow. “I was surprised that one visited Russia and was in Kiev beforehand. Well, the Russians probably accepted that,” said the former chancellor. “I hope that this model will not be repeated when visiting China – wherever the trip comes from.”
The federal manager of the Greens, Michael Kellner, rejected Schröder’s statements in no uncertain terms. “The statements I heard from Gerhard Schröder are unworthy of a former Chancellor,” he said. “These statements undermine the federal government’s efforts to find a peaceful solution and they reverse cause and effect.”
The parliamentary secretary of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, criticized: “To accuse Ukraine of “saber rattling” in the current situation is pure cynicism.” Schröder “irritates our neighbors and partners with his provocations” and contributes to “undermining hard-earned trust,” the CDU politician told the German Press Agency. It is high time that Chancellor Olaf Scholz contradicted his party friend.
The statements fall in the middle of an international discussion about Germany’s reliability in the Ukraine crisis. Eastern NATO partners such as Poland and the Baltic States have criticized Germany’s no to arms deliveries to Ukraine and are calling for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to be stopped Russia policy is struggling.
Only last week, after much hesitation, Chancellor Olaf Scholz put Nord Stream 2 on the table as a possible sanctions instrument in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The party leadership followed him last weekend. But the SPD Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, continues to advocate for Nord Stream 2 to be put into operation quickly.
Party leader Lars Klingbeil has convened a closed conference on the subject for Monday, as the “Spiegel” reported. In addition to SPD foreign politicians, Prime Minister and parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, Development Aid Minister Svenja Schulze and Chancellor Wolfgang Schmidt have also been invited.
Schröder has been friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he was Chancellor. He also holds management positions in the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipeline projects. He is Chairman of the Shareholders’ Committee of Nord Stream AG and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nord Stream 2 AG. Both gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea connect Russia and Germany. Schröder is also the head of the supervisory board at the Russian state energy company Rosneft.
In the interview, the former chancellor blamed NATO for the Russian troop deployment on the Ukrainian border. It should also be understood as a reaction to maneuvers by the western alliance in the Baltic States and Poland, he said. “Of course, this has an impact on thinking and threat analysis in Russia itself.”
On Baerbock’s trip to Kiev and Moscow, Schröder praised above all her clear no to arms deliveries to Ukraine. That was “respectable”. Overall, he could see “no major mistake” by the Green politician, “except for the fact that the small provocation of flying to Russia via Kiev might have been avoided,” said the former SPD chairman. “But well, that’s just a question of style.”
In the podcast interview with his former government spokesman Béla Anda, Schröder was also asked whether, given his friendship with Putin, he was willing to mediate in the Ukraine conflict. For that there is the US President, the French President and the Federal Chancellor, Schröder replied. “Someone who definitely has personal connections can’t really help there. Those responsible have to do it themselves, otherwise it can’t work.”
Source: Nachrichten
