Schröder at Putin's birthday: Merz calls it "downright immoral"
The German government has condemned former chancellor Gerhard Schröder's attendance at Putin's birthday celebration. Lars Klingbeil (SPD) also sharply distanced himself from his party colleague.
Archive image · Photo: Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Former chancellor Gerhard Schröder's attendance at Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday celebration has drawn sharp criticism from the German government. Government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said on Friday: "Putin alone is responsible for the war in Ukraine." Against this background, the chancellor considers it "downright immoral" that Schröder celebrated with Putin. Putin turned 74 on 7 October.
The SPD leadership also distanced itself. Lars Klingbeil told the Süddeutsche Zeitung the visit was "completely unacceptable". Schröder, chancellor from 1998 to 2005, has long been regarded as a close friend of Putin and has worked for Russian energy companies. He has faced massive criticism within his own party since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.