Germany has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer for former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to coordinate talks with the European Union to secure a peace deal in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
European Council President Antonio Costa said earlier that he believed there was potential for the EU to hold talks with Russia and discuss the future of Europe's security architecture. Putin said that if such talks were held, Schroeder would be his preferred mediator.
A German official said the offer was not credible because Russia had not changed any of its conditions, adding that the initial test would be whether Moscow was ready to extend a three-day ceasefire. He said Putin had made a series of false proposals aimed at dividing the Western alliance.
After leaving office in 2005, Schröder almost immediately took over as chairman of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline consortium and faced sharp criticism in Germany for his closeness to Putin.
A German government spokesman said Berlin saw no signs that Moscow was interested in serious negotiations, and stressed that any talks with the European Union would have to be closely coordinated with member states and Ukraine.