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States seeking to join EU should join anti-Russian sanctions, German chancellor insists

Olaf Scholz also noted that his country supported Serbia on its path to the European Union

BELGRADE, June 10. /TASS/. The states that are seeking to join the European Union should join the anti-Russian sanctions, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint news conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Friday.

"It is clear and obvious - whoever joins [the EU] accepts all the rules. And whoever wants now to be a member country should observe the sanctions regime," Chancellor Scholz said.

Olaf Scholz said that his country supported Serbia on its path to the European Union, declining, however, to give the concrete timeframe for Serbia’s accession.

"The implication is that we support Serbia in its EU accession process. <...> My aim is to help Serbia in this, and not in the distant future, but as soon as possible. It won't happen in six months, everyone knows that, but the process will continue," Scholz told the news conference.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in response to a request from the leaders of the two Donbass republics for help. He stressed that Moscow had no intention of occupying Ukrainian territories, and its sole goal is the country’s demilitarization and denazification. The West reacted by imposing sweeping sanctions against Russia and many Russian individuals.