EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday pushed back on Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s proposal for ex-German leader Gerhard Schroeder to act as mediator on the war in Ukraine.
“If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, you know, that would not be very wise,” Kallas told reporters at foreign ministers’ talks in Brussels.
“Gerhard Schroeder has been a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies. So it’s clear why Putin wants him to be the person so that actually, you know, he would be sitting on both sides of the table,” she said.
Asked Saturday whom he would like to help restart talks with Europe, Putin said he would “personally” prefer Schroeder, who led Germany from 1998 to 2005.
The former chancellor has remained close to the Kremlin leader, standing apart from most Western leaders since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which he never publicly condemned.
The 82-year-old previously held key roles in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil firm Rosneft, which he gave up in 2022.
Schroeder’s stance has made him a controversial figure at home, and Berlin reacted sceptically to Putin’s proposal, with government sources telling AFP Sunday they viewed it as part of “a series of bogus offers”.
On the broader question of speaking directly with Putin, Kallas reiterated that European Union countries should first seek to align objectives — and would seek to do so at foreign ministers’ level talks later this month.
But when asked whether she could play a role in future negotiations, Kallas indicated she saw herself as a contender.
“I think I could see through the traps that Russia is presenting,” she said — pointing to her prior experience as a partner in a law firm involved in “a lot of negotiations”.
“But of course, we are not there in entering the negotiations in any way right now,” Kallas said, adding: “We don’t see that Russia is really negotiating in good faith at all.”
