"First, if we give Russia the right to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, that would not be very wise. Kallas added that Schroder could not be considered an impartial mediator given his past work as a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies. It is clear why Putin wants him to be the person, so that actually he would be sitting on both sides of the table, she said."
"Over the weekend, the Russian leader put forward Schroder a longtime ally as a possible figure to help restart talks with Europe, saying he would personally favour the former German leader for the role. Schroder, 82, previously held senior positions in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil company Rosneft. He stepped down from the role several months after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine under mounting pressure, but has never explicitly condemned Putin over the invasion."
"Putin's surprise pitch comes as the Russian president suggested the conflict in Ukraine could be drawing to a close a rare instance in which Putin appeared to hint at a possible timeline for ending the invasion. But Putin's top advisers have stressed that the Kremlin continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region as a precondition for future negotiations. The Russian president remains determined to seize the remaining parts of the region by force this year before any serious talks begin, people familiar with his thinking told the Guardian."
The EU dismissed Vladimir Putin’s proposal to use Gerhard Schroder as a European mediator for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Putin suggested Schroder, a longtime ally, could help restart talks with Europe and personally favored him for the role. Schroder previously held senior positions in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on Rosneft’s board, and he stepped down after Russia’s full-scale invasion. The EU’s top diplomat said it would be unwise to allow Russia to appoint a negotiator and that Schroder could not be considered impartial because of his past work lobbying for Russian state-owned companies. Putin also indicated the conflict could be nearing an end, while advisers continued to demand Ukraine withdraw from Donbas as a precondition for negotiations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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