There are no grounds to expel former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder from the centre-left SPD over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a party arbitration committee announced on Monday. Schröder did not violate the party rules of the SPD by engaging with Russian state-owned companies, meaning there is no basis for expulsion or even reprimand, the committee in the northern German city of Hanover announced. The decision can be appealed within two weeks. The committee has been considering the decision for several weeks after 17 motions for expulsion were received from different chapt…