As Russia launches a fresh wave of attacks across Ukraine and the Kremlin signals it could pursue economic deals with the United States — under certain conditions — Vladimir Putin is also floating a controversial idea: Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a mediator for Europe. The messages don’t seem to line up. Escalation on the battlefield. Openness in diplomacy. And a deeply divisive figure put forward as a negotiator. So what’s really going on? In this episode, we ask whether these moves are connected — and whether they point to something bigger: Is Putin testing the West… or facing growing pressure? DW Berlin Briefing host Nina Haase and her guests Roman Goncharenko (DW Ukrainian) and scholar Judy Dempsey (Carnegie Europe) explore:
why Schröder is so controversial
his long-standing ties to Russian state companies
how he is seen in Ukraine vs. Germany
and what this proposal reveals about Russia’s strategy.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:21 Putin’s suggestion
03:48 EU reax
06:06 Gerhard Schröder
12:15 Ukraine
17:12 Theories
22:50 Volodymyr Zelenskyy
25:00 EU’s answer
27:57 End
DW Berlin Briefing on
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