MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Bodo Ramelow, the minister-president of the German federal state of Thuringia, called for the creation of a European defensive union with Russia Saturday.
"All participating states must conclude a non-aggression pact and form a defense community that focuses on resolving conflicts on the European continent," he said in an interview with the Funke Media Group.
"We must finally think of Europe as a whole, and Russia is part of that," Ramelow, who is a politician in the left-wing Die Linke party, added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed Russia is not closing the door to dialogue with Western countries on issues of economic cooperation, infrastructure projects, as well as security and the formation of a new security architecture in Eurasia. However Moscow has increasingly sought cooperation with China and members of the BRICS bloc amid Western hostility and economic sanctions.