Steinmeier defended the already imposed sanctions against Russia, but said that he still preferred "cooperation instead of confrontation" with Moscow, according to a Saturday interview with Thüringische Landeszeitung.
“We must avoid falling into an automatic [sanctions] mode, which leads only to a dead end and leaves no more policy options,” Steinmeier said.
The comment was made the same day Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia appealed for toughening sanctions, including imposing “preventive” ones, against Russia in an interview to another German newspaper, Die Welt.
The idea of slapping Moscow with any further restrictions appears to be lacking popular support in Germany. That was felt earlier this week in Berlin when Chancellor Angela Merkel, attending her party’s campaign event, was booed by a rally of protesters holding signs, which read 'Europe is strong only with Russia' or 'Stop the Nazis in Ukraine.'
German business is also unhappy with the attempts to hit Moscow hard with the sanctions. A confidential letter to the German government from the German-Russian chamber of foreign trade, which was leaked to Reuters by an official in Berlin warns of the boomerang effect the sanctions would have on the European economy, RT reported.
"Deeper economic sanctions would lead to a situation where contracts would increasingly be given to domestic firms, projects would be suspended or delayed by the Russian side, and Russian industry and politicians would turn to Asia, in particular China," the letter reads.
The plea to the government also says the loss of market share for German and European firms, resulting from sanctions, would be "long-term and sustained", causing "irreparable damage" to Germany's competitive position.
More than 6,000 German firms are doing business in Russia and trade between the two countries accounts for 300,000 jobs in Germany.