German foreign minister to travel to Moscow next week for talks on Ukraine

"It is a characteristic of diplomacy in a crisis that it takes a lot of persistence, patience and strong nerves ... This is why it is so important to intensively make use of varying channels of communications."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will travel to Moscow next week for talks over the Ukraine crisis, she said on the sidelines of a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brest on Friday. At the same time, she dampened hopes for a quick solution after a series of talks between the West and Russia this week.

"There had been no talks with Russia (at the NATO-Russia Council) for two years, so I think nobody came to the negotiating table expecting a solution within a few hours," Baerbock told reporters. "It is a characteristic of diplomacy in a crisis that it takes a lot of persistence, patience, and strong nerves ... This is why it is so important to intensively make use of varying channels of communications."