Former German Chancellor Schroeder celebrates Putin's birthday at president's home

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder helped ​celebrate Russian President Vladimir ​Putin's 74th birthday at ‌the leader's ​home, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Pictures posted on Telegram showed Schroeder and Putin smiling broadly ‌and shaking hands, with an old-style stove and a Russian samovar used to boil water for tea in the background.

"Vladimir Putin found ‌out from the morning news the day before that Gerhard Schroeder ‌was in Moscow and had come on business for the company Globus," the Kremlin said on Telegram. "The president invited his old friend to his ⁠home. ​Gerhard Schroeder was with ⁠Vladimir Putin when the head of state celebrated his birthday yesterday."

Schroeder, who served ⁠as chancellor from 1998 to 2005, recently joined the supervisory board of ​Russian supermarket chain Hyperglobus. He visited one of its Moscow stores ⁠on Wednesday and was greeted with applause from employees, Russian TV footage showed. Schroeder has ⁠faced ​criticism, notably in Germany, over his links to Russian business and Putin, ties that have persisted despite Moscow's 2022 invasion ⁠of Ukraine and subsequent waves of Western sanctions.

Putin suggested in May that ⁠Schroeder could ⁠represent European countries in peace talks to settle the conflict. European foreign ministers rejected the notion of any ‌such role ‌for Schroeder.