German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said he cannot imagine a “return to normal life” with Putin’s Russia, BTA reports.
“There can be no return to normal life with Putin’s Russia,” he said during an official visit to Warsaw.
Steinmeier stressed the need to accept the price that democratic countries will have to pay.
“This war requires our support, our ability to defend ourselves, our willingness to bear this burden for a long time to come,” he added.
The German president also condemned “Russian war crimes” committed in Ukraine. They must be documented, and those who are politically responsible must be brought to justice, he said at a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
“This barbarism that we see every day, this barbarism must stop,” he added, calling on Russia to allow the humanitarian evacuation of residents of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The city has been under fire since the beginning of the Russian offensive.