BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday pushed back on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for ex-German leader Gerhard Schroeder to act as mediator on the war in Ukraine.

“If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, you know, that would not be very wise,” Kallas told reporters at foreign ministers’ talks in Brussels.

“Gerhard Schroeder has been a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies. So it’s clear why Putin wants him to be the person so that actually, you know, he would be sitting on both sides of the table,” she said.

Asked on Saturday whom he would like to help restart talks with Europe, Putin said he would “personally” prefer Schroeder, who led Germany from 1998 to 2005.

The former chancellor has remained close to the Kremlin leader, standing apart from most Western leaders since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which he never publicly condemned.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026