BERLIN, May 10 (Reuters) – Germany dismissed on Sunday a suggestion from Russian President Vladimir Putin that former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder could coordinate talks with the European Union to secure a peace deal in Ukraine.
European Council President Antonio Costa said recently he believed there was “potential” for the EU to negotiate with Russia, and to discuss the future of the security architecture of Europe. Putin said that if such talks were to take place, Schroeder would be his preferred mediator.
A German official said the offer was not credible because Russia had not changed any of its conditions, adding that an initial test would be whether Moscow was willing to extend a three-day ceasefire.
The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Putin had made a series of bogus offers aimed at dividing the Western alliance.
After leaving office in 2005, Schroeder almost immediately took a job as chairman of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline consortium and has faced heavy criticism in Germany for his closeness to Putin.
A German government spokesperson said on Friday Berlin saw no signs that Moscow was interested in serious negotiations and stressed that any talks with the European Union would need to be closely coordinated with member states and Ukraine.
(Reporting by Holger Hansen and Markus Wacket; writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Ros Russell)
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