(BERLIN) - The European Union should make it clear to Russia that both sides stand to lose if there is no return to "normalised" relations following the Georgia crisis, Germany's foreign minister said Monday.

"We have so much to gain from each other through political cooperation, economically, in science, in education and through exchanges," Frank-Walter Steinmeier told a gathering in Berlin of German ambassadors posted abroad.

"If it is not seen like this in Russia, then we should make it clear that (that we) have a lot to lose if we do not manage to come out of this crisis ... and return to a normalised form of cooperation," Steinmeier said.

"This is the only way to make sure than political tensions in the regions find a political solution and stop degenerating every time into violent conflict," he added.

He said that it would "need a great, great effort and more time to restore the confidence lost, not only in the (Caucasus) region but also between Europe and Russia and the United States and Russia."

Germany has repeatedly called on Moscow to withdraw its troops from Georgia-proper following last month's brief conflict and to respect Georgian territorial integrity.

Chancellor Angela Merkel went to Tbilisi last month and made a point of saying that Georgia would one day become a member of the NATO military alliance.

But with its close economic ties to Russia, Berlin has also been something of a voice of moderation in the recent chill in relations between Russia and the West, calling for lines of communication to remain open.

"We are now in a world where everyone ... needs partners more than they need opponents. That goes for all actors on the international stage, I think, for Russia and the United States included," Steinmeier said.

He also commended French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- who was in Moscow Monday for talks with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev -- for the "intense" mediation efforts of the French EU presidency.

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