German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that it is necessary to get rid of illusions that sanctions against Russia will have no consequences for Germany.

"No one should be under the illusion that there are some measures that will have no consequences for us," Scholz said in a Sunday interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

If necessary, he said, we need to act proportionately. "It will be necessary to take measures that will have the greatest effect on those who violate our principles," he said.

He believes that the rebuke to the Social Democrats for not being clear enough about the Russian Federation is not justified.

"I have formulated clear words, they are relevant. And relevant is what we Europeans have agreed with the U.S. government, namely, that Russia will have to pay a high price in case of military aggression against Ukraine," he said.

Scholz also rejected Russia's demand to rule out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO.

"There can be no such guarantee," he said.