Friedrich Merz condemns Gerhard Schröder's visit for Vladimir Putin's birthday

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is deeply outraged by Gerhard Schröder's visit to Vladimir Putin's birthday celebration, a German government spokesperson said on October 9.

The spokesperson said Merz considered the former chancellor's participation immoral against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. He linked that assessment to civilian deaths, suffering and separated families, placing responsibility for the war on Putin.

Schröder led Germany's government from 1998 to 2005. His ties to Russian business and the Russian president have repeatedly drawn criticism in Germany, including since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Social Democratic Party co-leader Lars Klingbeil also criticised the trip. Reuters, citing Süddeutsche Zeitung, reported that he called the visit completely unacceptable in view of the suffering of Ukraine's people.

Putin had previously described Schröder as his preferred interlocutor for talks on new European security arrangements. Reuters said the European Union and Merz's government rejected the idea. The former chancellor and his wife did not immediately respond to the agency's request for comment.