Putin says who he would like to see as negotiator between EU and Russia

Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has described former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder as the best candidate to mediate negotiations between the European Union and Russia.

Source: Putin during a briefing on the evening of 9 May, as reported by Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlets TASS and RIA Novosti

Details: The Russian leader said he would be ready to see any European leader act as a negotiator with Moscow, provided they had "not said nasty things" about Russia.

According to Putin, Schröder is the best candidate for dialogue between Russia and Europe.

Putin also claimed that the West, by supporting Ukraine, had supposedly expected Russian statehood to collapse within a few months, but had now "become trapped in a place from which it cannot escape".

He further claimed that European countries are already seeking contact with Russia and understand that "raising the stakes" in the Russo-Ukrainian war will prove costly for them.

In addition, Putin said that the United States genuinely seeks a settlement to the war, but that it is primarily a matter for Russia and Ukraine.

For reference: Gerhard Schröder served as chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005 and led the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1999 to 2004. After leaving office, he worked for years in Russian energy companies and is still regarded as a close associate of Putin.

Among other things, Schröder met Putin in Moscow several weeks after the start of the full-scale war, and again in July 2022. After each meeting, he claimed that Russia was interested in ending the war.

Against this backdrop, members of the SPD repeatedly raised the issue of expelling Schröder from the party, but unsuccessfully. Reports also indicated that Schröder was not invited to the SPD's 160th anniversary celebrations in 2023, partly because of his visit to the Russian embassy for Victory Day commemorations. [Victory Day is a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May – ed.]

In January 2026, Schröder advocated restoring energy cooperation with Russia and urged people not to demonise Russia despite its aggression against Ukraine.

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