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EU’s Kaja Kallas rejects Gerhard Schröder as negotiator

newsMay 11, 2026181,416

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Gerhard Schröder is unfit to mediate EU-Russia talks after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the former German chancellor could negotiate on Europe's behalf in the Russia-Ukraine war. Kallas pointed to Schröder's long-standing lobbying for Russian state-owned companies and his past roles as Rosneft board chair and member of the Nord Stream 2 shareholders committee. Germany expressed skepticism about Putin's proposal and Ukraine also rejected the suggestion, saying Schröder's Moscow ties create an unacceptable conflict of interest. The dispute matters because any mediator with close financial or political links to Moscow would undermine trust in peace talks and complicate EU unity on sanctions and security policy.

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