Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is under fire from politicians for his roles at Russian companies including Rosneft.
Social democrat Schroeder led Germany from 1998 to 2005, when he was replaced by Angela Merkel.
The 77-year-old, who is a close friend of President Putin, has been chairman of Rosneft since 2017 and was paid £500,000 last year.
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (pictured, left with Vladimir Putin), has been chairman of Rosneft since 2017 and was paid £500,000 last year
He also leads the shareholder committee at the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
And last month he was nominated to join the board of state-backed energy group Gazprom, which owns Nord Stream 2.
But German politicians in his own party have lashed out at him for keeping his ties with Russian companies going despite the invasion of Ukraine.
SPD co-chairman Saskia Esken said: ‘Rosneft and Gazprom are now the infrastructure of a bloody war of aggression.
With his mandates there, Gerhard Schroeder is damaging the reputation of Germany and social democracy.
‘Dealings with a warmonger are incompatible with the role of a former chancellor.’
Schroeder was instrumental in setting up the Nord Stream 2 project while in office – but Germany recently blocked the pipeline from opening as tensions escalated.
He has blamed Russia for the war but has not gone any further – leaving it unclear if he will keep his current roles.
He has been criticised for his ties before and provoked a backlash in 2004 when he described Putin as a ‘flawless democrat’.
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