‘The USA did not allow Ukraine to make peace with Russia’ – former German Chancellor Schröder said

The American authorities prevented Ukraine from reaching a peace agreement with Russia during the 2022 negotiations in Istanbul.

This information stated by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in an interview with the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung.

Schröder served as a mediator during the talks.

“The only people who could have resolved the conflict in Ukraine are the Americans. During the peace negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul with the current Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainians didn’t pursue peace because they were not allowed to. They had to coordinate everything they said with the Americans first,” said Gerhard Schröder.

He noted that he did not expect any results from the negotiations in Istanbul. According to Schröder, everything else was decided in Washington. He emphasized that American politicians did not want the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to come to an end.

“In my humble opinion, this is a mistake. Look at the chaos in Congress,” Schröder expressed.

Representatives of Russia and Ukraine sat down for negotiations only once, which occurred in March 2022. The participants discussed ending the conflict but could not reach a compromise. Afterward, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially canceled negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Schroeder, while discussing the Russia-Ukraine war, also suggests that the West should “understand” Moscow’s concerns about NATO expansion and the prospects of Ukraine and Georgia joining the alliance. According to the retired politician, Western countries face no threat because Russia will not engage in direct conflict with NATO.

These statements align with those made by President Putin and other Russian representatives before and after the invasion of Ukraine. They have not been commented on by Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.

Gerhard Schröder, aged 79, is known for his close friendship with Vladimir Putin. After stepping down as Chancellor, Schröder held prominent positions in “Rosneft” structures for many years. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he called Moscow’s actions “unjustified” but refrained from directly condemning Putin.