MOSCOW (Sputnik) — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday recommended moving past the confrontation with Russia in order to concentrate on common security goals.
"We cannot just turn away from Russia, who has become extremely complex. On the contrary, we need again to find a way for passing from the phase of confrontation and growing tensions to sustainable understanding of a common security," Steinmeier stated at an ambassadors’ conference in the German Foreign Ministry.
He also added that it is necessary to consolidate around the principle of mutual security.
Relations between Russia and the West started to deteriorate in 2014 with the exacerbation of the political crisis in Ukraine, most notably Crimea becoming a part of Russia, which were followed by the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia by the European Union.