Ex-Chancellor Schreder: Kremlin wants to decide by negotiations

Russia wants to find a diplomatic decision of the war in Ukraine, and the agreement on the supply of grain reached in Istanbul may continue the way forward, said the former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, known for its friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The good news is that the Kremlin wants to decide by negotiations,” Schreder said in an interview with Stern weekly, RTL broadcasting company and N -TV television channel. His statements are given by BBC.

According to Schrief, he met with Putin in Moscow last week. “The first success is a grain transaction, perhaps it can be gradually expanded before the ceasefire,” the former chancellor added.

Schroeder, who served as a chancellor from 1998 to 2005, criticized the war in Ukraine, but refused to condemn Putin, who he still calls his close friend, for which he himself was convicted in his country.

Distance from Putin will not help the situation now, he said in an interview.