Germany's Gerhard Schroeder says Europe must not cut all ties with Russia

Germany's former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has described himself as a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, called on Thursday for the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible and for Europe's remaining ties with Russia not to be cut.

"There have been many mistakes - on both sides. But Russia's security interests do not justify the use of military means either," Schroeder wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

"With the necessary sanctions, care must be taken not to completely cut the remaining political, economic and civil society ties that exist between Europe and Russia."


Schroeder heads the shareholders committee of Nord Stream, the company in charge of building the controversial Russian gas pipeline to Europe which now faces U.S. sanctions although he is not personally affected by those sanctions.