Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has backed Chancellor Olaf Scholz's rejection of the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine and his fundamental opposition to the deployment of ground troops there. 

"I think Olaf Scholz is doing what I would expect from a German chancellor at the moment," the former leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), which is also Scholz's party, said. 

Schröder, who was chancellor from 1998 to 2005, also called for a Franco-German initiative to negotiate a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. 

Asked if he would like to see a "peace chancellor," Schröder replied in the affirmative, adding, "If someone as German chancellor is committed to peace, if someone is called a 'peace chancellor,' is that a negative thing?" 

Schröder is known to be a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since leaving office, ex-Chancellor has held well-paid positions in Russian state-owned energy companies. 

He was chairman of the supervisory board of Russian energy giant Rosneft for almost five years, resigning from his position in May 2022 without giving a reason. That same month, he also rejected a nomination to the board of Russian energy company Gazprom.

After Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Schröder was increasingly criticized for his ties to Russia and lost some of his state privileges, but the SPD decided not to penalize him.