Story perspectives

EU Ministers Reject Schröder, Seek New Russia Negotiator

5/11/2026

Summary

Schröder Negotiator Push

EU ministers met in Brussels to discuss a “representative” for contacts.
Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine does not support Gerhard Schröder as negotiator with Russia and cited sanctions momentum.
Kaja Kallas called Schröder a lobbyist and said the EU would talk with Vladimir Putin if Moscow withdraws troops from Moldova.
Vladimir Putin prefers Gerhard Schröder as European negotiator while Johann Wadephul urged the E3 (Germany, France, United Kingdom) to join talks.

Summary

Schröder Peace Push

In a 2024 DPA interview Schröder said his friendship with Putin could help negotiate peace and rejected demonisation.
He sat on the Nord Stream 2 venture board and Rosneft’s board until 2022.
In March 2022 he led an unofficial back-channel meeting with Putin and Ukrainian negotiators that Kyiv called futile.
After the invasion the SPD tried to expel him and removed his state-funded office, and Alexei Navalny said he was “paid by Putin.”

History

Historical Context

After the EU and Russia signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in 2005, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Vladimir Putin negotiated the Baltic-focused gas pipeline that linked Russia directly to Germany. That early energy pact set a precedent for later EU-Ukraine Association talks, where the same entanglements now fuel debates over Schröder’s suitability as a negotiator amid current sanctions.

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Schröder Negotiator Push

EU ministers met in Brussels to discuss a “representative” for contacts.
Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine does not support Gerhard Schröder as negotiator with Russia and cited sanctions momentum.
Kaja Kallas called Schröder a lobbyist and said the EU would talk with Vladimir Putin if Moscow withdraws troops from Moldova.
Vladimir Putin prefers Gerhard Schröder as European negotiator while Johann Wadephul urged the E3 (Germany, France, United Kingdom) to join talks.

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