Former German casino sharply criticised for becoming chairman of Russian oil company

Former German cascalari Gerhard Schroeder is facing a sharp response after being elected president of Rosneft, the state-controlled Russian oil giant.

This appointment deepens his disputed ties with Moscow. He has long been a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia annexed Crime in 2014, with this case it imposed just those sanctions on Rosneft.

German parliament's foreign affairs committee chairman said Schroeder's move was incredible “” He says it's been “that's been taken by”

German news designer Deutsche Welle quoted Norbert Roetgen as saying Schroeder was “arched” in his previous role as Chancellor.

Back in August, Schroeder was criticised by Chancellor Angela Merkel when he was proposed to join Rosneft's board. On Friday the same week, shareholders voted to support his nomination.

What's the story?

Schroeder was Chancellor in 1998-2005, but his ties to Russia were concrete.

As Chancellor, he was a staunch supporter of plans to build a pipeline between Russia and Germany, this agreement was signed in its last days in office. After being out of office, he became chairman of the Nord Stream shareholders' committee.

As such, he also works closely with Russia's other energy giant Gazprom, and last year he became chairman of the board of directors in Nord Stream 2, other branches of Gazprom, writes Periscopi.

He has long been friends with President Putin, while in 2014 they were photographed embracing the 70th anniversary of Schroeder's party. At the same time, Schroeder also rejected sanctions on Crime.

Deutsche Welle also reports that members of Mr. Schroeder, the Social Democrats (SPD), feared he could have contributed to their catastrophic showing in the recent federal elections. He had described party members as angry “”.

In the end, he has also indicated that he will receive only part of his new salary. /Periscopi/