Gerhard Schroeder and Soyeon Schroeder-Kim travelled to Ankara for a "special occasion" – probably for the inauguration of the Turkish president.
Ankara – Smiling faces in the presidential palace in Ankara: Gerhard Schroeder apparently attended the inauguration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Together with his wife Soyeon Schroeder-Kim, the former chancellor traveled to Turkey – probably to cultivate personal acquaintances.
This is suggested by a photo posted by Soyeon Schröder-Kim on Instagram. "Greetings from Ankara!" wrote the wife of the former chancellor. "The first time my birthday party in Turkey and then also for this special occasion!" The couple can also be seen in official pictures in the presidential palace, for example together with former Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Former German President Christian Wulff was there as Germany's official envoy.
Schroeder a friend of Erdoğan and Putin
Gerhard Schröder was the seventh Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. Subsequently, the SPD politician worked for Russian energy companies for many years. Schroeder is still considered a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was also reflected in German foreign policy. Because of his close ties to Moscow, which he did not give up even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many party members and local chapters unsuccessfully demanded that Schroeder be thrown out of the SPD.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his wife Soyeon Schröder-Kim were seen at the inauguration of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. (Archive photo) © ari/Imago
Most recently, Gerhard Schröder and Soyeon Schröder-Kim attended a reception at the Russian Embassy on the anniversary of the victory over the Nazis. The NRW. As a result, Global Business parted ways with Schröder-Kim.
Schroeder also maintained good relations with Erdoğan. In 2005, he praised the "impressive leadership" of the Turkish president. In 2018, the former chancellor was already present at the ceremony for Erdoğan's inauguration, at that time still as an official representative of Germany.
Erdoğan celebrates another election victory
Just over a week ago, the Islamic-conservative and authoritarian Erdoğan won the run-off election against challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The AKP politician was re-elected for a five-year term with 52 percent of the vote.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also attended Erdoğan's swearing-in. During his visit to Ankara, he wanted to persuade the Turkish ruler to abandon his opposition to Sweden's accession to NATO. Other guests included Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the heads of government of Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as numerous African countries. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has already congratulated Erdoğan on his election victory and invited him to Berlin. (LRG/AFP
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