Kaja Kallas excludes former German Chancellor Schröder as mediator in Ukraine negotiations

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas Rejects Putin’s Proposal to Appoint Gerhard Schröder as Mediator in Ukraine Peace Talks

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rejected the possibility of appointing former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as the Union’s negotiator in potential peace talks on Ukraine, on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Saturday that Gerhard Schröder act as a European mediator in future negotiations, stating that the conflict “could be coming to an end.” Kallas firmly rejected this proposal during an interview with journalists before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

“First of all, giving Russia the right to designate a negotiator on our behalf would not be very wise. Additionally, I believe Gerhard Schröder has been a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned enterprises,” stated the EU’s foreign policy chief.

Longstanding Ties with Moscow

According to Kaja Kallas, appointing Gerhard Schröder as a mediator would allow Vladimir Putin to be “on both sides of the table” in negotiations.

Gerhard Schröder has indeed maintained close ties with the Russian president since leaving office as German Chancellor in 2005.

He has served on the board of Russian oil giant Rosneft until 2022 and has also held positions in other Russian state-owned energy companies, including Nord Stream AG and Gazprom.

Vladimir Putin’s proposal was also rejected by Ukraine and has received a mixed reception in Europe.

On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was asked about Kyiv’s support for Schröder as a potential mediator. “No, we do not support him,” he responded.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Social Democratic Party in parliament, Adis Ahmetović, stated that the proposal should be “carefully examined” with European partners, according to the German media outlet Der Spiegel.