Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on attacks on former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, including the reluctance of German politicians to sit next to him.
Putin recalled the recent situation in the Canadian Parliament, when Canadian MPs gave a standing ovation to a former Nazi collaborator. Putin warned the German authorities that their efforts to distance themselves from the former chancellor would have consequences.
"What I'm trying to say is that the further you get from Schröder, the closer you get to Anthony Rothe, the head of the Canadian Parliament who is a Nazi sympathiser," Vladimir Putin said.
He repeated this phrase in German. Putin also expressed confidence that there are "many decent people” in Germany and that he will be heard.
Earlier, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was not seated next to the current head of government Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The incident occurred at a ceremony in honour of the 33rd anniversary since Germany's unification. It was reported that the government's protocol service ensured Schröder would not find himself in the same frame with the Prime Minister and President of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, Schröder was seated so that not many leading politicians would pass by him.
In May, Gerhard Schröder was not invited to the anniversary of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), of which he is a member (Schröder visited the Russian Embassy on May 9).
"As long as he is as close to the warmonger and aggressor as was evident during his visit to the Russian embassy last week, we have nothing to talk about," Kevin Kuhnert, General Secretary of the SPD of Germany then said.
German daily Bild expressed outrage after Schröder's appearance at a gala organised by the Russian Embassy to mark the 78th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The former German chancellor admitted that he was friends with Russian President Putin. According to Schröder, he will not deny this, despite attacks.
Vladimir Putin earlier said that Germany should be proud of people like Schröder. Gerhard Schröder served as German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and then worked for Russian companies, from which he left last year. He was reproached for his connections with Russia. In the summer of 2022, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.