Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the eve of a Russia-EU summit in Volzhsky Utyos near the Volga River city of Samara on May 17, 2007. The summit, which is clouded by sharp rifts on energy trade and security issues, isn't expected to yield any agreements. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

German Chancellor Merkel (L), Russian President Putin and EU Commission President Barroso (R) attend a Russia-EU summit at the Volszhsky Utyos resort near Samara, 900 km (550 miles) southeast of Moscow, on May 18, 2007. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) talks to German Chancellor Merkel during a final news conference of the Russia-EU summit at the Volszhsky Utyos resort near Samara, 900 km (550 miles) southeast of Moscow, on May 18, 2007. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin chat during their official G8 summit photograph taken in Heiligendamm, Germany on June 7, 2007. The leaders of the G8 nations are holding their annual summit in the historic Heiligendamm sea resort on June 6-8, 2007. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

(L-R) Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, Canadian Premier Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Italian Premier Romano Prodi and U.S. President George W. Bush walk along a pier in Heiligendamm, Germany on June 7, 2007. The leaders of the G8 nations are holding their annual summit in the historic Heiligendamm sea resort on June 6-8, 2007. (UPI Photo/Alexander Astafiev) | License Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) chats with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the German-Russian governmental consultations St. Petersburg Dialogue in Wiesbaden on October 15, 2007. Putin is visiting Germany for talks with Chancellor Merkel after he was informed of a plot to assassinate him when he visits Tehran this week. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive for the German-Russian governmental consultations St. Petersburg Dialogue in Wiesbaden, Germany on October 15, 2007. Putin is visiting Germany for talks with Chancellor Merkel after he was informed of a plot to assassinate him when he visits Tehran this week. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) is welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel upon his arrival at the restaurant "Adler Wirtschaft" for bilateral talks in Hattenheim near the city of Wiesbaden, Germany, on October 15, 2007. Putin arrived in Germany on Sunday for a two day visit after he was informed of a plot to assassinate him when he visits Tehran this week. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint news conference after their meeting called St. Petersburg Dialogue in Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden on October 15, 2007. Putin is visiting Germany for talks with Chancellor Merkel after he was informed of a plot to assassinate him when he visits Tehran this week. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- While most of the Western world has cracked down on Russia over the crisis in eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that deepening sanctions may not be the best way to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to cooperate.

Several weeks after the European Union approved new sanctions against Russia, Merkel instead advocated for getting Russia to work for a political resolution to the conflict.


"I've always advocated cooperating constructively with Russia and I'm ready to do so in future," she told the Saechsische Zeitung newspaper.

Merkel, who speaks fluent Russian, said she's been "working very hard to keep the lines of communication open" with the Kremlin.

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"For constructive relations it takes more than one," she said. "I have always called for constructive cooperation with Russia and will continue to do so in future."

The chancellor stressed that her willingness to speak to Putin didn't translate into approval for Russia's takeover of Crimea or its alleged intervention in the uprising in Eastern Ukraine.

The basic consensus, she said, is "that we Europeans respect the territorial integrity of our states -- that we don't unilaterally change borders."

"If such an annexation, which violates international law, were to become a political instrument that were accepted without challenge, then everything that has allowed us to live in peace and prosperity for half a century would be in danger," she continued. "That is why we do not accept Russia's actions."

Germany's interest in cooperating with Russia, however, is not merely political. The two nations had trade ties worth nearly 90 billion euros ($120 billion) last year, and Germany has typically resisted broad sanctions for that reason.

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