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Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD)
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / DPA
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) defended the German refusal to deliver arms to Ukraine and rejected the Ukrainian criticism in clear terms.
"I really hope that the saber-rattling in Ukraine will finally stop," said Schröder in the podcast "Die Agenda".
“Because what I have to hear there, also about blame being laid on Germany because of the reasonable cancellation of arms deliveries, that sometimes knocks the bottom out of the barrel,” said Schröder.
Schröder has been friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he was Chancellor.
He is also a business lobbyist and acts as the head of the supervisory board of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft.
The Russian daily newspaper »Kommersant« reported in 2020 that Schröder received compensation of 600,000 euros for his work.
In Germany, the 77-year-old has repeatedly been criticized for his commitment to the Kremlin-controlled companies Gazprom and Rosneft.
The former chancellor always emphasizes that this is a private matter.
Cancellation by Scholz and Baerbock
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) have clearly rejected the delivery of lethal weapons to Ukraine.
Kiev has sharply criticized this.
The government there demands, among other things, warships and air defense systems from Germany.
Schröder also saw the Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine as a reaction to NATO maneuvers in the Baltic States and in Poland.
"Of course this has implications for thinking and threat analysis in Russia itself," he said.
You have to take that into account if you are looking for a settlement with Russia.
The former chancellor does not expect a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"I do not believe that.
And I also do not believe that the Russian leadership can and does have an interest in intervening militarily in Ukraine.«
In the SPD, the way Schröder behaves after his chancellorship is viewed critically in parts.
According to SPIEGEL information, party leader Lars Klingbeil has called a meeting with leading social democrats for Monday.
The aim of the meeting is said to be to reconcile the two inner-party camps in the Russia debate and thus end a conflict that has been a burden on the party for years.
til/dpa