Schröder announced that it would be impossible for him to extend his mandate on the board. In addition to the former chancellor, a German businessman is also leaving the supervisory board.

Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wants to leave the board of directors of the Russian oil company Rosneft.

Schröder, who is the head of the Rosneft supervisory board, said it was impossible for him to extend his mandate on the board. No details or reasons were given. The German businessman Matthias Warnig is leaving the supervisory board with Schröder.

The 78-year-old Schröder, a longtime friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has recently been under massive pressure in the face of demands in Germany that he no longer works as an oil and gas lobbyist for Russia because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The SPD politician also holds management positions in the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipeline projects – both natural gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea connecting Russia and Germany.

Schröder’s statements caused a stir

The pending commissioning of Nord Stream 2 has now been put on hold by the federal government. Warnig is the head of the Nord Stream 2 operating company.

Schröder caused a stir when, in the middle of the escalation before the Russian attack on the neighboring country, he criticized Ukraine’s demands for arms deliveries as “saber rattling”.

The Bundestag recently stripped Schröder of some of his special rights as former chancellor. The SPD politician is currently having the deletion of his privileges legally examined. Last year, more than 400,000 euros flowed from the state treasury for personnel expenses in Schröder’s office.

The former chancellor is still entitled to a pension and personal protection. Schröder himself initially did not comment on the matter.