Former Chancellor Schröder accuses Ukraine of "saber rattling".

Created: 01/28/2022, 10:19 am

Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD).

© Christoph Soeder/dpa

Gerhard Schröder is considered a friend of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The former Chancellor has a clear opinion on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Berlin - Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has defended the German refusal to deliver arms to Ukraine and has clearly rejected Ukrainian criticism.

"I very much hope that the saber-rattling in Ukraine will finally stop," said Schröder in the podcast "Die Agenda".

"Because what I have to hear there, including the accusations against Germany, because of the reasonable cancellation of arms deliveries, that sometimes knocks the bottom out of the barrel."

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.

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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 don't think that the Russian leadership can and does have an interest in intervening militarily in Ukraine."

Schröder has been friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he was Chancellor.

dpa