Europe Must Find New Basis to Cooperate With Russia - Steinmeier

German Foreign Affairs Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Europe has many ties with Russia and needs to find new basis to continue cooperating with the country.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Europe has many ties with Russia and needs to find new basis to continue cooperating with the country, German Foreign Affairs Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC on Thursday.

“To us in Europe, Russia will always be our biggest neighbor. It can’t just be friend or foe. We need to find a new basis for an engagement even if it takes years and decades,” Steinmeier said.

Steinmeier noted that the trust between Europe and Russia is at its lowest level, but stressed that Russia “raises long and various historic memories” in every country in Europe, and especially in its eastern part.

“We need to be sensitive to these histories,” he said.

Relations between the European Union and Russia deteriorated following Crimea's March 2014 reunification with Russia, and the escalation of an armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

The European Union, the United States and a number of their allies have blamed Russia for interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs. Moscow has consistently denied the accusations.