Putin no "impeccable democrat" - Merkel
MILAN, Jan 12 (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she does not think Vladimir Putin is an ''impeccable democrat'', as predecessor Gerhard Schroeder described him, but it is important to work with Russia to secure energy supplies.
''I've not said it yet and I won't say it now,'' Merkel told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview, when asked if she would define the Russian president as an ''impeccable democrat''.
''For Russia I use the term strategic cooperation. Russia borders with the European Union, is an energy supplier for the next decades and we have every interest that it continues developing with success,'' she added.
Schroeder referred to Putin as an ''impeccable democrat'' in the past and reiterated that view in interviews last year when his memoirs were released.
Schroeder developed a close relationship with Putin when he was chancellor and praises him repeatedly in the memoir, highlighting his political vision, intelligence, German language skills and fitness.
Less than a month after leaving office in November 2005, Schroeder took a position as chairman of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline consortium that he helped set up with Putin -- a move for which he was sharply criticised.
Merkel, who will travel to Russia on January 21 to meet Putin, has adopted a more even-handed policy with Moscow, referring to them as a strategic partner but also speaking out against civil rights violations and media censorship.
Earlier this week, she said Russia's decision to close a major oil pipeline amid a trade dispute with Belarus was ''unacceptable''.
Merkel, who has vowed to revive the European constitution during Germany's presidency of the EU, said in the interview that further enlargement of the 27-nation bloc was not possible without the institutional reform contained in the treaty.
''Right now there isn't the legal framework to go beyond 27 members, already for Croatia it's not possible,'' she said. ''We need this treaty to make the enlargement process possible again.'' The interview appeared in Italian and was translated by Reuters into English.
REUTERS
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