Anger as German ex-chancellor Schroeder heads up Rosneft board

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is dealing with a backlash after being elected chairman of the Russian kingdom-controlled oil giant Rosneft.
The appointment deepens his debatable hyperlinks with Moscow. He has lengthy been buddies with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The West imposed sanctions on Rosneft after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
The chair of the German parliament's overseas affairs committee stated Mr Schroeder's circulate changed into "incredible".
German news provider Deutsche Welle quoted Norbert Roettgen as announcing Mr Schroeder become "cashing in" on his former position as chancellor.
returned in August, Mr Schroeder turned into criticised via Chancellor Angela Merkel when he was nominated to sign up for the Rosneft board. On Friday, shareholders voted to returned his nomination.
what's the background to this story?
Mr Schroeder turned into chancellor from 1998 to 2005 - however his links with Russia move returned nearly as a ways.
As chancellor, he turned into a staunch backer of plans for a pipeline to be built between Russia and Germany by using the Nord flow consortium, and an agreement became signed in his closing days in workplace. once out of office, he became chairman of the Nord flow shareholders' committee.



As such, he additionally works closely with Russia's other electricity massive, Gazprom, and remaining year he became chairman of the board of administrators at Nord circulation 2, a Gazprom subsidiary.
He has long been buddies with President Putin - in 2014 they have been pictured embracing at Mr Schroeder's seventieth birthday celebration. Mr Schroeder also opposed the sanctions over Crimea.
but what's the trouble?
This all sits an increasing number of uncomfortably in Germany, wherein there has been deepening public distrust of the Russian state.
There had been fears that Russia may want to try to undermine German democracy since Russian hackers have been accused of focused on German lawmakers in 2015.
Mr Roettgen accuses Mr Schroeder of seeking to increase German power dependence on Russia.
Deutsche Welle additionally reviews that contributors of Mr Schroeder's former celebration, the Social Democrats (SPD), feared he should have contributed to their disastrous displaying in latest federal elections. It describes party contributors as "incensed".
What does Mr Schroeder say?
He defends Rosneft, saying last month some of his critics clearly desired to ignite a brand new cold conflict: "consider if I were proposed no longer for a Rosneft board function however for Exxon in the us. no person could ask my authentic reasons.
"it is the most important oil company within the global, with essential links to Germany. It isn't always the lengthy arm of the Kremlin.
"they are most people shareholder, but BP is a shareholder - no longer a small shop. Qatar is a shareholder," he stated, in line with Reuters.
He has also indicated he will take only a fragment of the profits the new role could commonly entice.