German party rejects punishment for ex-leader’s Russia links

BERLIN (AP) — German media say former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder won’t be sanctioned by his own party because of his ties with Russian state-owned companies. The dpa news agency and other news outlets reported Tuesday that the Social Democratic Party’s regional committee in Hannover rejected bids to punish Schröder for his improvement with Russian state energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom and with Nord Stream AG. The panel ruled there was insufficient proof that Schröder had broken party principles or statutes. Had the committee upheld the complaint, Schröder could have faced expulsion from the party. He was Germany’s chancellor from 1998 to 2005 and is a longtime friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.