German Federal Chancellor Olaf ScholzBERLIN, Mar 4 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that accession to the European Union of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine is not an issue that should be raised now. «It must be very clearly understood that this, of course, has prerequisites, but now, I think, this is not an issue that can be discussed. We must to prevent the war, that is, not to overcome it — it is already underway, but to ensure that there is no escalation, we must do everything possible so that the prospects for the development of Ukraine … are good, so that the country is not completely destroyed and millions of people do not die» , — Scholz said in an interview with the ZDF TV channel. Specifically, about the Ukrainian application for EU membership, the German Chancellor added that «now we are talking about organizing concrete assistance.» Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine early in the morning on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, the civilian population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question, the President of Russia stressed.
