Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier | Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images German FM urges NATO against ‘saber-rattling’ Frank-Walter Steinmeier says a ‘symbolic tank parade’ on the Alliance’s eastern border with Russia will not bring security.

NATO's recent military exercise could further inflame the security situation in Eastern Europe, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in excerpts of an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw next month, Steinmeier said more dialogue and cooperation with Moscow is needed, rather than what he said was military posturing.

"What we shouldn't do now is inflame the situation further through saber-rattling and war cries," Steinmeier said in comments that the newspaper made available to Deutsche Welle and other media ahead of publishing the full interview on Sunday.

"Whoever believes that a symbolic tank parade on the Alliance's eastern border will bring security, is mistaken," he said. "We are well-advised to not create pretexts to renew an old confrontation."

NATO launched a two-week drill code-named "Anakonda-16" on June 7: It's the largest military exercise in Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War, and includes a mock Russian attack on Poland.

Some 31,000 troops are participating in the maneuvers, including 14,000 troops from the U.S., 12,000 from Poland and 1,000 from the U.K. Dozens of fighter jets and ships are also involved, along with 3,000 vehicles.

Steinmeier said diplomacy is key to the region's stability, adding that it would be "fatal to now narrow the focus to the military, and seek a remedy solely through a policy of deterrence."

A willingness to negotiate must also be present alongside military precautions, and the Alliance should be prepared to "renew discussions about the benefits of disarmament and arms control for security in Europe," the foreign minister said.