INTERNATIONAL: Germany's navy chief has stepped down on Saturday ,22 January,after drawing criticism for saying Russian President Vladimir Putin deserved respect and that Kyiv would never win back annexed Crimea from Moscow.

German Navy Chief Kay-Achim Schoenbach has made the remarks to a think-tank discussion in India on Friday,21 January, and video was published on social media. The comments came at a sensitive time as Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine's borders.

Diplomatic efforts are focused on preventing an escalation. Russia denies it is planning to invade Ukraine.

Schoenbach has said Putin seeks to be treated as an equal by the West.

"What he (Putin) really wants is respect," Schoenbach has said.

"And my God, giving someone respect is low cost, even no cost... It is easy to give him the respect he really demands - and probably also deserves," Schoenbach has said, calling Russia an old and important country.

Schoenbach has conceded Russia's actions in Ukraine needed to be addressed. But he added that "the Crimea peninsula is gone, it will never come back, this is a fact," contradicting the joint Western position that Moscow's annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 cannot be accepted and must be reversed.

Prior to Schoenbach's resignation, the defense ministry has publicly criticized his remarks, saying they did not reflect Germany's position in either content or wording.

Schoenbach has apologized for his comments.

"My rash remarks in India ... are increasingly putting a strain on my office," he has said. "I consider this step ,my resignation necessary to avert further damage to the German navy, the German forces, and, in particular, the Federal Republic of Germany."

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had called on Germany to publicly reject the navy chief's comments. Schoenbach's comments could impair Western efforts to de-escalate the situation, Ukraine has said in a statement.

^{PHOTO: VIDEO OF QUESTION ANSWER SESSION DURING THINK TANK EVENT IN NEW DELHI WHERE GERMAN NAVY VICE ADMIRAL KAY-ACHIM SCHOENBACH MAKES COMMENTS ON UKRAINE-RUSSIA, SAYING CRIMEA IS GONE FOR GOOD AND THAT PUTIN DESERVES RESPECT}