Schröder maintains close – and controversial – ties with Russia and the Kremlin. He is considered a personal friend of Putin and sits on the supervisory board of the Russian oil group Rosneft. On behalf of gas company Gazprom, he lobbied for the construction of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. Despite strong criticism from his own party, the ruling Social Democratic SPD, he refused to relinquish those positions when Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine on February 24. The SPD would therefore like to expel him from the party.
The German government is said to have been unaware of Schröder’s trip and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is in Versailles for a summit with the European Union, declined to comment. According to Politico, a Ukrainian politician has asked Schröder to mediate. However, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnik, said he knew nothing. The former chancellor is said to have traveled to Istanbul with his wife on Monday and met a Ukrainian delegation there. The couple would then have flown to Moscow on Wednesday. Schröder’s wife, Soyeon Schröder-Kim, posted a photo of herself in Red Square on Instagram on Thursday evening.