According to the Kremlin, ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has traveled to Moscow for the second time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out that Schröder could also get in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two politicians share a friendship. “As far as we know, yes, he is actually in Moscow,” said Peskow, according to reports that the SPD politician was in the capital.
“There are no meetings as such, but we do not rule out contact,” said the Kremlin spokesman. Recently there have been “less active” contacts between Putin and Schröder.
Schröder’s wife So-yeon Schröder-Kim told the “Spiegel” that her husband “is holding talks about energy policy in Moscow”.
As the news portal further reports, Schröder arrived in Moscow on Sunday and is leaving again this Tuesday. Entry was via Baku. According to reports, the core of the talks will be gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. It is unclear who the former Chancellor is holding the talks with.
The ex-chancellor has been criticized for years for his ties to Russia and his close ties to President Putin. He is accused of not having sufficiently distanced himself from Russia’s attack on Ukraine.