Europe needs a new security system that includes Russia, Thuringia Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow said.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

"We need a European peace order that includes Russia. All participating states should conclude a non-aggression pact and form a defensive alliance focused on conflict resolution on the European continent," Ramelow said in an interview. He clarified that he is not against NATO, but for the reorganization of the European defense system.

"Germany needs a national defense army that lives up to its name. I am therefore strongly in favor of the Bundeswehr (the German armed forces) being well equipped. But we finally need to think about Europe as a whole, and Russia is also part of that," the politician emphasized.