German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is urging former German leader Gerhard Schröder to give up his positions in the Russian energy sector after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- That would be the right thing to do, Scholz said in an interview with the major state television channel ZDF.
Schröder was Chancellor from 1998 to 2005. He currently co-chairs the board of Russia's large state oil and gas company Rosneft. He also leads the shareholders in the controversial Nord Stream 2 project, and he is set to be given a board position in the giant Russian oil and gas company Gazprom in June.
Despite massive criticism from a number of parties - including from his own social democratic SPD, the former Chancellor has refused for years to give up his ties to Putin's Russia. He is now being considered for expulsion from the SPD, where he is already completely isolated. The ties to Putin have meant that Schröder has been stripped of his honorary membership of the Borussia Dortmund football club. Olaf Scholz says that Schröder's friends can now persuade him to change his mind.
- I had a good working relationship with Schröder when he was active in German politics. That is why it is important for me that he makes this decision, says Scholz.
Schröder is considered a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Germany has taken significant steps in the fight against Russia
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, Germany, under the leadership of Scholz's government, has made a U-turn in relation to arms exports. At the same time, the government has announced that Germany will in future spend 2.0 percent of the country's GDP on the defense budget.
The first 1,000 anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missiles have already been sent to the front lines. Scholz said on Saturday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "a turning point" in history.
The German government officially distanced itself from former Chancellor Schröder in 2014. This happened when he met with Putin and embraced him like an old friend.
The images of the smiling Schröder embracing Putin were released at a time of strong tensions between the West and Russia due to the crisis in Ukraine.
Schröder's successor as Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has previously called it "shameful" that Schröder defended the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine at the time.
Ritzau / dpa
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