Reuters reported on October 8 that the Kremlin stated that German former Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder celebrated Putin's 74th birthday at Putin's home in Russia.
Photos posted on Telegram show Schroeder and Putin smiling, shaking hands and taking photos together. In the background, there is an old-fashioned stove and a Russian-style tea kettle used for boiling water and making tea.
A photo of Putin and Schroeder online
The Kremlin said in Telegram: "Vladimir Putin learned from the morning news the day before that Gerhard Schröder was in Moscow for official business with Globus Corporation. The President invited his old friend to his home. Yesterday, during the national leader's birthday celebration, Gerhard Schröder was with Vladimir Putin."
Schröder served as German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005, and recently joined the board of directors of the Russian supermarket chain Hyperglobus. Russian television footage showed him visiting a store of the company in Moscow on the 7th, where he was greeted with applause from the employees.
It is reported that Schroeder has been criticized for his relations with the Russian business community and Putin, especially in Germany. Despite the Russo-Ukraine conflict and subsequent rounds of sanctions from the West, relations between the two sides have continued.
In May, Putin suggested that Schröder could represent European countries in peace negotiations aimed at resolving conflicts. Ministers of several European countries rejected the idea of allowing Schröder to play such a role.
