Germany Chancellor To Be Russian Gas Firm Advisor

Germany"s outgoing chancellor Gerhard Schroeder may be offered a post as an advisor to Gazprom, Russian radiostation Ekho Moskvy reported on Monday. "This matter was discussed during the recent summit in St. Petersburg," Ekho Moskvy quoted the sources as saying. Schr#246;der was in St. Petersburg on Friday to congratulate President Vladimir Putin on his 53rd birthday. Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov declined to comment. But Sergei Suverov, chief strategist at Gazprombank, said that if Schr#246;der became an adviser to the gas giant, it would be the first time that such a high-ranking politician joined the company. It would also be an understandable step, Suverov said, especially given Schr#246;der"s close ties to Putin and the German leader"s recent blessing of a 4 billion euro ($4.85 billion) gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany.