JAKARTA - Russian diplomats drew clear lines as the German Chancellor said the Russian president feared the 'spark of democracy' would spread to his country, trying to divide Europe and return to a world dominated by spheres of influence.
Chancellor Scholz was responding to a question in an interview with the Muenchner Merkur newspaper, published on the government's website on Monday, about whether President Putin would accept Ukraine moving closer to the European Union.
"The Russian president has to accept that there is a law-based democratic community in his environment which is growing ever closer," Chancellor Scholz said.
"He is clearly afraid of the spark of democracy spreading to his country," Chancellor Scholz continued.
Separately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova flatly rejected the comments.
"German sparks have spread to us several times. We will not allow any more fires," he wrote on social media.
The European Commission last week recommended that Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion since February, be given candidate status to join the European Union, a move Scholz said he also supported.
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Chancellor Scholz warned that the rise in energy prices was likely to last a long time and rejected Russia's assertion that it had cut gas flows because needed spare parts were lost due to sanctions.
"This explanation does not make sense," he said.
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