POTSDAM (Sputnik) — Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasized that the talks would focus on finding a way to mend the broken trust, rather than on the ongoing standoff.
"The loss of trust between the West and the East, specifically between the West and Russia after the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, will be one of the topics we will definitely discuss today," Steinmeier told reporters ahead of the summit.
Relations between Russia and the West including Germany, deteriorated in 2014 after the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis. The United States, the European Union and some of their allies have introduced several rounds of anti-Russian sanctions since Crimea reunified with Russia in 2014, and accused Moscow of meddling in the Ukrainian internal conflict. Russia has repeatedly refuted the accusations, and warned that the sanctions are counterproductive and undermine regional and global stability.