"We think that it is necessary to continue a dialogue, the channel of dialogue should not be closed," he said after a meeting with the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claud Juncker.
However, in his interview to Spiegel, published later in the day, Maas described Russian policy as "increasingly aggressive" and stated, that the sanctions against Moscow will not be reduced until Russia "fulfils its obligations" under the Minsk Agreement.
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Recently relations between Moscow and Berlin escalated after Germany expelled four Russian diplomats over the Skripal case last March in solidarity with Britan.
Chancellor Angela Merkel also stood with the US and its allies, accusing Damascus of "poison gas attack" at Douma. She claimed that evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria is “clear and explicit”, adding later, however, that her country "will not take part in military action" against Syria.
