Exclusive
The former chancellor confirmed in a conversation with the star and RTL/ntv that he was quite impressed by possible EU sanctions. He also needs to think about his family, he said.
By Nikolaus Blome and Gregor Peter Schmitz
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder spoke to star and RTL/ntv ruled out a break with his friend Vladimir Putin. Schröder, who now serves as chairman of the board of directors of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, said: “I have condemned the war on several occasions, you know that. But would personal distancing from Vladimir Putin really do anyone any good?” Schröder continued: “Do I have to jump over every stick that is held out to me? I’m not like that. I’ve made decisions, and I stand by them, and I made it clear: Maybe I can be useful again. Why should I so excuse me?”
Schröder also said: “But I also get a lot of letters from Germany that say: It’s good that there is still someone who is keeping channels of communication open with Russia in the current conflict.” Schröder also said he was personally impressed by the EU’s possible economic sanctions against him, but added: “There are still judges in Germany who can ensure that it doesn’t come to that.”
Gerhard Schröder on the sanctions against Russia
When asked whether impending sanctions could restrict your economic activity and whether he might soon no longer be financially capable of acting, Schröder said: “I don’t know. But apart from the Stadtsparkasse in Hanover, I don’t have any accounts anyway, and even they are manageable.” Schröder also stated that he had given up his seat on the supervisory board of the Russian energy group Rosneft and had not even taken up the lucrative mandate at Gazprom that had been offered: “I also wanted to protect my family. It’s incalculable what they are doing in their sanctions zeal.”
Source: Stern
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