Enlarge image

Not a friend of Putin's friends: Karl Lauterbach

Photo: Chris Emil Janssen / Chris Emil Janßen / IMAGO

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) suggested that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder leave the SPD because of his proximity to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lauterbach wrote on Platform »Unfortunately we have to be ashamed of him today. This no longer has anything to do with the SPD. As a 'friend' of Putin, he should simply resign from us," wrote Lauterbach.

The minister was referring to an interview with Schröder by the dpa news agency. In it, the former Chancellor made it clear that he is sticking to his friendship with Putin more than two years after the Russian attack against Ukraine. Schröder justified this by saying that his good connections with the Kremlin could perhaps help to end the war in Ukraine: “We have worked together sensibly for many years. Maybe that can still help to find a negotiated solution, I don’t see any other solution.”

sak/dpa