"More powerful circles" behind Zelensky have blocked peace, Schröder claims
For the first time, former SPD Chancellor Schröder speaks about his role in the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Putin's invasion was a "serious mistake", but Germany should beware of too harsh criticism due to its historical connection to Russia.
Germany's former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) has commented on the international situation during an appearance in Switzerland. In the Ukraine war, peace was within reach, Schröder said at an event of the Swiss "Weltwoche". At the invitation of the portal, the former chancellor gave a speech in the Zurich five-star restaurant "Dolder Grand" in front of 500 people.
The ex-chancellor denied the question of whether the black-red-yellow federal government had ever asked him as a diplomatic adviser or negotiator because of his famously good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he had been contacted by the Ukrainian side – via the Swiss Ringier publishers. This led to his participation in the Istanbul peace negotiations.
He commented in detail on these Russian-Ukrainian summit talks and gave insights for the first time. The Ukrainians had rejected Switzerland as a venue, Dubai had also been rejected, which is why Turkey was finally chosen. Schroeder's wife, an interpreter from South Korea, had kept the minutes.
Contrary to some claims in the media, peace was within reach, Schroeder said. The compromise that he initially had a majority was to keep the eastern territories in Ukraine. For Crimea, there was a "South Tyrolean solution", which would have meant a Russian enclave. Ukraine's accession to NATO would have been rejected in the package for the time being.
But the government of Volodymyr Zelensky was not able to decide freely, Schroeder said, without going into depth here. "More powerful circles" behind Zelensky had blocked peace. It was apparently believed that a continuation of the fighting would weaken Russia strategically. The media and US generals were convinced that they could defeat Putin and remove him from office.
Admonition to the Germans
The former chancellor still considers the war between Russia and Ukraine to be dangerous, warning that the West underestimates that it could escalate. Schroeder criticized Putin's invasion as a "serious mistake." Ukraine – even if it had become a NATO country – would not have posed an acute threat to Russia. But the West overlooks Russia's historically based security interests. "We Germans in particular should behave cautiously and constructively against the background of the Second World War and the crimes committed in the name of Germany," Schroeder said.
He is not against supporting Ukraine in self-defense with financial aid and weapons, but the EU must combine this with demands on the Ukrainian government to present serious and realistic peace scenarios: "This war will also have to be ended with negotiations. In any case, it cannot be decided militarily. Compromises will be needed."
Putin cannot be defeated militarily
Russia cannot be defeated militarily, Schroeder said, and said literally: "I recommend all those who believe this to look into the history books." From Napoleon to Hitler, everyone failed. After initial doubts, the Russians stand behind their president by a large majority. "They are convinced that the West is only using Ukraine as a spearhead to bring Russia to its knees," he said.
He himself catches himself thinking of associating hopes with peace with a politician who is not his favorite, namely Donald Trump. But he trusts him to end the war as promised before he takes office: Trump is "not indifferent" to Europe.
Germany and EU big losers
Germany and Europe were among the big losers of this war – after Ukraine. He regretted that there was no close cooperation between France and Germany, that the two countries had not influenced Washington, as the then President Jacques Chirac had done in the second Iraq war. He himself is not an opponent of the Americans, but there are situations in which the interests of Europe and the interests of the USA would contradict each other. That is the case today. At that time, Putin convinced Chirac of the Iraq error and thereby cleared the way for cooperation with the Germans.
