Germany will continue to provide weapons to the war zone in Ukraine, although this directly contradicts the security philosophy approved by official Berlin. War crimes committed by Russia make it impossible to return to normal relations with it. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated this during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Ukrinform reports..

According to him, Germany and Poland are closely cooperating on steps to support Ukraine..

“We stand in solidarity with Ukraine,” Steinmeier stressed.

He stressed that Putin's plans to divide Europe failed. The European Union is getting stronger.

“There can be no return to normal relations with such a Russia. Russian war crimes saw the whole world. They need to be documented and investigated, and the perpetrators and political decision makers need to be held accountable,” Steinmeier said..

He urged Putin to stop barbarism and hostilities in Ukraine and ensure the evacuation of the civilian population from Mariupol..

Commenting on the issue of sanctions, Steinmeier noted that the EU countries should increase economic pressure on Russia.. He said that all countries will try to reduce energy exports from the Russian Federation, noting that gas imports from Russia to Germany fell from 60% to 40%.

“We can say that this is still a lot, but these data show that we are serious about reducing our energy dependence on Russia,” the German President said..

He added that given the structure of the German economy, “there is no way to abandon Russian energy carriers as quickly as some expect.. Whoever initiates sanctions should not suffer more than Russia,” Steinmeier said..

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Recall that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier admitted that his country's policy towards Russia was a mistake.. Germany failed to create a "