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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin claims that in an earlier interview with Germany's Bild he was not talking about personal sanctions against former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a major lobbyist of Gazprom.

Instead, he says it is about the European Union's response to everyone in the Bloc who help Russia, Klimkin told Ukrainian journalists in Brussels where he met EU top diplomats on Monday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

"I did not raise the issue of sanctions against Schroeder. I believe that we should not play with the terminology. I think that anyone who helps Russia promote its projects should get the attention of the European Union," the minister stressed.

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Read alsoNord Stream promoted by KGB, Stasi’s former agents - journalistAccording to Klimkin, if "allowing lobbyists of Gazprom, lobbyists of sanctioned state-owned Russian companies to implement projects in the EU is a threat to the EU security".

"Therefore, the EU should react, and the way it should react is an issue to be further discussed," he said.

Earlier, a number of media outlets referring to the interview with the Bild newspaper reported that Klimkin had called for sanctions against former German Chancellor Schroeder as Putin's "most important lobbyist worldwide".

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Associated Press reported that Germany’s government is rejecting the idea that former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should face sanctions over his links to Russian business and to President Vladimir Putin. Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday: “The German government and chancellor see no reason to consider such things.”