Mr Schroeder, pictured with Vladimir Putin in 2003
Credit: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/ PA
Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, launched a scathing attack on Gerhard Schröder on Wednesday after the former German chancellor appeared to cast doubt on whether the Kremlin had been behind his poisoning.
“Schröder is Putin’s errand boy,” Mr Navalny said in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper. “It’s one thing to be a Putin lobbyist. But now he’s trying to protect murderers.”
Mr Schröder responded by threatening legal action against Bild for publishing comments Mr Navalny made suggesting he had received secret payments from the Putin regime.
Mr Schröder served as German chancellor between 1998 and 2005. Once feted for keeping Germany out of the Iraq war and modernising its welfare system, he has become a highly controversial figure since his retirement from politics.
Like Tony Blair, he has made millions since leaving politics but has been dogged by scrutiny of his business links with foreign regimes.
Mr Navalny accused Mr Schroeder of acting as 'Putin's errand boy'
Credit: HANDOUT/AFP
He spoke out in support of Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has been accused of acting as a lobbyist for the Putin regime, an allegation he denies.
He has worked extensively for Russian energy companies, and is currently chairman of Rosneft and Nord Stream, which is majority owned by Gazprom.
It was Mr Navalny’s allegation that he receives additional “hidden payments” from Russia that prompted the threat of legal action.
Mr Schröder waded into the Navalny affair recently and appeared to cast doubt on German accusations that Russia was behind the poisoning, commenting that there are “no reliable facts”.
Specialist laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden all found traces of the nerve agent Novichok in samples taken from Mr Navalny. The finding has also been confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Novichok, one of the most lethal nerve agents ever made, was developed by the Soviet Union and is so sophisticated only a state is believed capable of producing it.
“I know that even his own party sees Schröder very negatively. It’s just humiliating to hear such words from a former chancellor,” Mr Navalny said.
“The poison attack on Mr Navalny must be clarified transparently by the Russian authorities. I understand the difficult personal situation Mr Navalny finds himself in,” Mr Schröder said in a statement.
“But his comments to Bild about alleged ‘hidden payments; are false. He himself says that he has no evidence for his allegations.”
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