Süddeutsche: Berlin dismisses Putin's Schröder mediator proposal

The German government does not view as serious Vladimir Putin's proposal to appoint former chancellor Gerhard Schröder as the European Union's mediator in talks on the war in Ukraine.

Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing government sources

Anonymous sources said Berlin reacted to the proposal with scepticism and criticism. The official line is that the offer is "another sham proposal within Russia's well-known hybrid strategy" and that Europe must not allow it to drive a wedge between allies.

The German government argues that Putin's initiative is not serious: Moscow has not changed its demands, and a real first step would have been for Russia to extend the current "ceasefire".

Within the ruling SPD, individual voices have called for the Kremlin's offer to be taken seriously. Other party members reacted critically.

Context

On 9 May, Putin said he considered Schröder the best candidate for the role of mediator between the EU and Russia. The former chancellor declined to comment.

Schröder, 82, was German chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and led the SPD until 2004. He has been criticised for years over his ties to Russia and his work for Russian energy companies. He did not distance himself from the Kremlin after the full-scale invasion and in January 2026 called for restoring energy cooperation with Russia.