Sanchez announced this at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Madrid.

“The first is a call for de-escalation.

I think it is very important for Russia to reduce tension on the border with Ukraine.

Secondly, the Spanish government, other NATO and EU allies call for respect for the territorial integrity of countries, for respect for borders - this is what is now being called into question.

The third is to recognize all existing dialogue forums in order to achieve a de-escalation of the situation, ”RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said that he expects Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation around Ukraine.