Schroeder says Russia wants negotiated solution to Ukraine war

Schroeder said solutions to crucial problems such as Crimea could be found over time, “maybe not over 99 years, like Hong Kong, but in the next generation”

Russia wants a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine and last month's agreement on grain shipments might offer a way forward, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Qazet.az reports.

"The good news is that the Kremlin wants a negotiated solution," Schroeder told Stern weekly and broadcasters RTL/ntv, adding he had met Putin in Moscow last week.

"A first success is the grain deal, perhaps that can be slowly expanded to a ceasefire," he said.

Schroeder said solutions to crucial problems such as Crimea could be found over time, "maybe not over 99 years, like Hong Kong, but in the next generation". He said an alternative to NATO membership for Ukraine might be armed neutrality, like Austria.