Bloomberg: Merkel Challenged on Russia by Ex-Chancellor Putin Friend
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged an end to sanctions on Russia, clashing with his successor Angela Merkel over relaxing penalties imposed in the conflict over Ukraine.
As Schroeder evoked German-Russian friendship today at a conference co-sponsored by Russian gas exporter OAO Gazprom (GAZP), an official familiar with German policy making warned that the sanctions, aimed at extracting Russian cooperation to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, could be further tightened.
Schroeder, a Social Democrat who led Germany from 1998 to 2005 and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, symbolizes the forces pulling at Merkel as she seeks to keep German industry and public opinion behind sanctions. While Schroeder is retired from politics, his party is Merkel’s junior coalition partner.