Makeiev made the remarks while accompanying German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on a visit to Kyiv.
“We do not need mediators, we need allies,” the ambassador said.
“Someone who for years represented Russian interests in Germany has neither moral nor political legitimacy to act as a mediator today,” he said. He added, referring to Schröder,
“After all, he may accidentally sit at the wrong [side of the negotiating] table.”
The proposal that Schröder could serve as Europe’s negotiator with Russia was raised by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on May 9. On May 10, Reuters reported that the German government rejected the idea. Officials in Brussels also opposed the suggestion.
Schröder served as Germany’s chancellor from Oct. 27, 1998,
to Nov. 22, 2005. He chairs the shareholders’ committee of Nord Stream AG, the
company behind the Nord Stream 2 project, and has served on the board of the
Russian energy company Gazprom. He has been described as a close friend of
Putin.