German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the West needs to engage in dialogue with Russia to rebuild lost trust.
"We need a dialogue with Russia in order to rebuild the trust that has been lost and to reduce the risk of being inadvertently drawn into a spiral of escalation. It is good that the NATO-Russia Council would meet ahead of the Warsaw summit," Steinmeier said.
"We are aware that resistance in the EU to extending the sanctions towards Russia has increased. It will be more difficult than it was last year to find a common position on this issue," RIA Novosti cited him as saying.
Steinmeier said that Germany would "work hard to ensure that Europe presents a united front on this question", adding that penalties remain "inextricably linked" to the peace deal over eastern Ukraine.
"Particularly in times of crisis, we need formats that allow us to break our silence and to return to the negotiating table," he added.
