Germany on Sunday rejected a suggestion by Russian President Vladimir Putin that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder could coordinate talks with the European Union to secure a peace deal in Ukraine.
European Council President Antonio Costa recently said he believed there was "potential" for the EU to negotiate with Russia and discuss the future of Europe's security architecture.
Putin has stated that if such talks were to take place, Schroeder would be his preferred mediator.
A German official said the offer was not credible because Russia had not changed any of its conditions, adding that an initial test would be whether Moscow was willing to extend a three-day ceasefire.
The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Putin had made a series of false offers aimed at dividing the Western alliance.
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After leaving office in 2005, Schroeder almost immediately took a job as chairman of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline consortium and has faced fierce criticism in Germany for his closeness to Putin.
A German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin saw no signs that Moscow was interested in serious negotiations and stressed that any talks with the European Union would have to be closely coordinated with member states and Ukraine.
