Germany: Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder resigns from Russian oil group Rosneft
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was criticized for his ties to Russia and to Vladimir Putin.
Here in Ankara, July 9, 2018. © AP - Burhan Ozbilici
Text by: RFI Follow
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Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, close to Vladimir Putin, under fire from critics with the Russian offensive against Ukraine, will finally leave the board of directors of Rosneft, announced the Russian oil group.
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According to Rosneft, Gerhard Schröder informed the company that he could not extend his functions as chairman of the board of directors of the number one Russian oil company.
This announcement comes the day after decisions in Berlin and Brussels targeting the former Social Democratic leader, who was chancellor from 1998 to 2005.
Thursday, May 19,
the Bundestag, the lower house of the German Parliament, has indeed decided to deprive him of some of his advantages
as a former chancellor, including the allocation of offices.
Voting in the European Parliament
In addition, in Brussels, the deputies of the European Parliament voted by a large majority for a non-binding resolution asking him by name to resign from his posts.
“
European members of the boards of major Russian companies and politicians who continue to receive Russian funds
” should be added to the EU sanctions list, the text states.
In addition to his duties at Rosneft, Gerhard Schröder is chairman of the shareholders' committee of Nord Stream AG, the consortium that notably manages the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.
► To read:
Germany: the cumbersome Mr. Schröder
Gerhard Schröder was also to join the supervisory board of the Russian giant Gazprom in June.
Deprived of honorary distinctions by several cities and targeted by calls for his ousting from the social democratic party SPD, Gerhard Schröder had made it known in April that he had no intention of resigning, unless Moscow were to stop its gas deliveries. to Germany.
Another Rosneft board member, Matthias Warnig, is also resigning, according to the Russian group's statement.
A senior Stasi official...
Matthias Warnig, who is also CEO of the company operating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, began his career in the circles of power in the communist GDR.
According to German media, he was a senior official of the Stasi, the East German Ministry of Internal Security, of sinister memory, in the espionage section.
© RFI
(with AFP)
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