OREANDA-NEWS Europe should not burn bridges with "another Russia outside the government of President Vladimir Putin." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for this during a speech at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, reports Deutsche Welle (DW, entered in the register of foreign media).

"We must keep in touch with representatives of another Russia, another Belarus and, thus, keep open the prospects for a democratic, peaceful future of both countries, no matter how unlikely it may seem to us today," the politician said.

The German Chancellor also called for "consistent punishment for Russian war crimes in Ukraine." In his opinion, the "international register of losses caused to Ukraine" created within the framework of the CoE summit should contribute to this.

Earlier it became known that at the Council of Europe summit in Iceland on May 16 and 17, the leaders of European countries will discuss the creation of a mechanism to hold Russia accountable for the Ukrainian conflict. By the end of the summit, it is planned to develop a plan for creating a system that will include a register of "all damage caused by Russian troops"