Diplomatic tensions at day two of Munich Security Conference
Day two of the Munich Security Conference saw Germany come out in favour of easing some of the sanctions imposed on Russia. But only if a ceasefire could be reached in eastern Ukraine, with help from UN peacekeepers.
It has raised questions about NATO's role in eastern European relations.
"Will NATO strengthen itself to contain Russian power in Eastern Europe giving what Russian have done illegally in Crimea, in the Donbass and in Georgia? I think the answer is positive. The NATO defence ministers have determined that they increase their findings. We have troop in Poland and three Baltic countries. I think NATO is unified. We have to continue the sanctions against Russia", said Nicholas Burns, the former US Ambassador to NATO.
His counterpart, former Russian Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko, declined to speak to euronews in Munich.
But the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian senate said a united approach - which included Russia - was needed.
"The only approach that Russia thinks is right is that security is indivisible. It must be shared by everyone. Cooperation in the field of security should not be divided into blocks. NATO's continued existence provokes new threats, rather than overcoming them. This conference has always been anti-Russian. Unfortunately, they try to blame Russia for all problems facing the West", Konstantin Kosachev insisted.
Amid strained diplomatic relations inside the conference, outside several hundred people demonstrated in favour of peace and disarmament.