“We want to build security in Europe together with Russia and not against it,” Merkel said.
The European Union has been cooperating with NATO on the issue of the region's security, recently allowing the placement of six new command and control units in Eastern Europe close to the Russian border.
Moscow has expressed concern over the buildup of NATO presence near its western border and said it would make "adequate" changes in the country's military planning.
The crisis in Ukraine cannot be solved by using military force and Russia needs to contribute to settling the conflict, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated.
“Russia must contribute to settling the conflict in Ukraine. The crisis cannot be solved using military means,” Merkel said.
The creation of an “expansive Europe” from Vladivostok to Lisbon is impossible without solving the crisis situation in Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel added.
“The conditions and the foundation for [creating an ‘expansive Europe’] lie on the solving the crisis in Ukraine while observing international law,” Merkel said.
The Ukraine crisis is one of the central issues of the 51st Munich Security Conference being held in the Bavarian capital on February 6-8.
The ongoing military operation in the southeast of Ukraine was launched by Kiev authorities in April 2014 to suppress independence supporters in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was unsure of the results of the recent talks on the Ukrainian crisis in Moscow.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were in Moscow Friday to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the crisis situation in Ukraine. Hollande and Merkel traveled to Kiev the day before to discuss the same issue with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
“After yesterday’s talks with President Hollande, I must say that we still don’t know if they will bring any success, but the visit was important. This was our duty to those who are suffering,” Merkel said.
No one is interested in a new split in relations within Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
“No one is interested in a new split in Europe, moreover, no one’s interested in a confrontation that is escalating more and more,” Merkel said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that she cannot guarantee that the Minsk Agreement will be observed by Kiev and the eastern regions of Ukraine.
The delivery of arms will not help in solving the crisis in Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday during the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
“I understand the discussion, but I think that greater amounts of weapons delivered to Ukraine are not the way to reach progress. I seriously doubt this,” Merkel said.
"This conflict cannot be solved using military," she added.
The propaganda war in regard to the Ukrainian crisis should be considered carefully, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
"The issue of hybrid warfare is something we should take a careful look at," Merkel said.
A solution to the Syrian crisis would be easier working with Russia rather than without it, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated.
“This is a reality and as a minimum it needs to be known how to replace [Syrian President Bashar] Assad so as to end the destabilization. I believe that at the moment it would be easier to find a solution together with Russia than without Russia,” Merkel said.
