Germany’s SPD Says Europe Cannot Remain Peaceful for Long Without Russia

BERLIN (Sputnik) – Lasting peace in Europe is impossible without Russia, but any Russian aggression will require retaliatory measures, Lars Klingbeil, a co-leader of Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), said on Thursday.

"Long-term peace in Europe is impossible without Russia, and possible only with Russia," he told the German parliament, calling for "clarity and consequences" on Europe's part in the event Russia "crosses the border politically or geographically."

He stressed, however, that potential measures exclude arms supplies to Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed claims put forward by the West and Ukraine that its troop buildup near the border with Ukraine was in preparation to attack the neighboring country. Moscow pointed to NATO's military activity near Russian borders and offered a set of proposals on mutual security guarantees in Europe to the United States and NATO. The latter provided a private written response to Moscow's proposals on Wednesday.