BELGRADE: Following their conversation on the Ukraine war, Chancellor Olaf Scholz disagreed on the importance of imposing sanctions on Russia.

Vucic told a press conference after their discussion that Merkel asked Serbia to join Western sanctions against Russia "in a definite, unambiguous, and severe manner," and even offered assistance in the creation of energy capacity.
"I spoke about our position, and the specific situation that Serbia has around Kosovo and Metohija province," the President was quoted as saying by the Xinhua report, referring to Serbia's southern province, which declared independence unilaterally in 2008 after being heavily bombarded by NATO in 1999.

"We love the integrity of Serbia as much as you love the integrity of Ukraine," he said, recalling Russia's UN Security Council backing for Serbia's territorial integrity, Serbia-Russian longstanding friendship, and energy cooperation. Serbia takes a different stance on the need to put sanctions on Russia.

"We Serbians remember what sanctions are like, but we've had a different kind of relationship with Russia for generations." Scholz reiterated Germany's support for Serbia's membership in the European Union (EU), saying that "all (EU) membership aspirants should join those penalties."

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