Gerhard Schroeder MOSCOW, Mar 10 Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder went to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the request of the Ukrainian side, the German newspaper Welt reported. Earlier, the European newspaper Politico wrote, citing sources, that Schröder is in Moscow, where he intends to meet with Putin as part of efforts to resolve the Ukraine. After that, the media reported that Schroeder's meeting with Putin was not coordinated with the German Cabinet, the German government is not involved in this. fully ties with RussiaAccording to Welt, the Ukrainian government «asked Schroeder for mediation.» A source familiar with Politico told Politico that the Ukrainian side wants to see if Schroeder «can build a bridge for dialogue with Putin.» Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, the civilian population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question, the President of Russia emphasized.
