In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on the Russia 1 television channel, the Russian president commented on attacks against former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
The journalist noted that Schroeder is currently being obstructed because of his connections with Russia, and that he is being kept away from important events just to prevent him from appearing in the same picture as the current chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
"You know, we recently witnessed an outrageous incident in the Canadian Parliament where they applauded a Nazi. So I want to say that the further away from Schroeder, the closer to Anthony Rota, the speaker of the Canadian Parliament, who sympathizes with the Nazis. And to make sure that they hear me in Germany, I'll even say this in German," Putin replied.
He repeated his remarks about Schroeder and Rota in the German language.
According to the Russian president, there are many decent people in Germany, and many of them will hear his message.
In late September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Canadian Parliament. Among those invited to the session was 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka (Gunko), who was introduced as "a Ukrainian-Canadian World War II veteran who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians." The audience greeted him with applause. In reality, Hunka turned out to be a former fighter in the SS Galicia Division, which was made up of Ukrainian nationalists who not only fought against the Red Army, but also committed atrocities against Jews, Poles, Belarusians, and Slovaks.
The honoring of the Waffen SS member caused outrage in Russia, Belarus, Poland, and other countries. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the "terrible mistake," and Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota resigned.
In Russia, Hunka was charged in absentia with genocide of civilians during WWII.
Schroeder is currently facing criticism for his friendly attitude towards Russia. In the spring, the former chancellor became the subject of a Polish investigation into the events in Ukraine. In addition, many German media outlets expressed concern about his presence at a formal reception at the Russian Embassy in Berlin on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.
According to President Putin, Germany should be proud of people like Schroeder because he really cares about his people and their interests. In support of his claim, the Russian leader cited Schroeder's role in the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines, noting what happened to the German economy after the pipelines were sabotaged.