According to the politician, the issue of Crimea will be resolved over time Zelensky's promise to return Crimea to Ukraine by military means is nonsense, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is sure.
In his opinion, the issue of Crimea can be resolved over time, "perhaps not in 99 years", as it was with Hong Kong.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC that Kiev will not be able to return Crimea with the help of military operations:
"The idea that President [of Ukraine Vladimir] Zelensky will be able to get Crimea by military means is nonsense."
So he commented on Zelensky's appeal to the citizens of Ukraine, in which he promised to regain control over the territories of the Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson regions, as well as the waters of the Black and Azov Seas from the Snake to the Kerch Strait.
According to Schroeder, the issue of Crimea will be resolved sooner or later.
"This is an issue that can be resolved over time, perhaps not in 99 years, as in the case of Hong Kong, but it can be resolved in the face of the next generation," he said.
The German politician recalled that the Crimean Peninsula became part of the Ukrainian SSR thanks to the personal decision of the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev.
"And he did it because he thought that the USSR would live as long as the Catholic Church, which, fortunately, turned out not to be the case," Schroeder added.
"With the exception of the Tatar minority, this region is Russian," Schroeder said.
Russia and Shredder
Gerhard Schroeder has close ties with Russia. From 2017 to 2022, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft. In addition, the ex-Chancellor became a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an honorary Doctor of Sciences of St. Petersburg University. In addition, Schroeder is also Chairman of the Shareholders' committee of Nord Stream AG.
On August 3, it became known that Schroeder met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. "Yes, indeed, Schroeder was in Moscow recently, and, indeed, he had a face-to-face meeting with President Putin. Of course, the former Chancellor, like probably all thinking and understanding people and specialists in Europe, is very, very concerned about the real state of affairs and is concerned about the energy crisis that is flaring up in Europe. And I am also concerned about the not at all rosy prospects in this area. And, of course, he asked Putin to explain the situation and explain the vision of the Russian side of the situation that is developing," RIA Novosti quoted the words of the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov.
In particular, Putin told Schroeder that sanctions against Russia had led to a reduction in gas supplies to Europe from 167 to 30 million cubic meters per day.
Schroeder himself, after a conversation with the Russian president, said that the conflict in Ukraine can be resolved through negotiations.
"The good news is that the Kremlin wants a negotiated solution. There was already a negotiating approach to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, for example, in Istanbul in March," the ex-chancellor stressed in an interview with n-TV.
Due to contacts with Gazprom and the Russian president, Schroeder had problems earlier - they wanted to expel him from the party, but the party's arbitration commission rejected the petition.
According to many of Schroeder's party members, the ex-chancellor did not distance himself from the Russian Federation strongly enough after the start of his war in Ukraine.
Schroeder, in response to criticism, noted that Russia is ready to make contact with the Ukrainian side to resolve hostilities on the territory of Ukraine - but Brussels, as well as Berlin and Paris are not making efforts to establish contact.
"I don't want to take away the mediation work from anyone in the government. But why should I stop negotiations that are possible from a legal point of view and do not threaten trouble for me and my family?" he stressed.
As for "close contacts" with the Kremlin, Schroeder ruled out the possibility of any "rupture" of relations.
Angelina Milchenko
