Germany accused Russia on Friday of endangering Europe's security with demands that recall the Cold War, as Western leaders arrived for a Munich Security Conference set to be dominated by the Ukraine crisis, AFP reported.

Ahead of the annual, three-day conference's opening ceremony, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Moscow needed to show "serious steps towards de-escalation."

"With an unprecedented deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine and Cold War demands, Russia is challenging fundamental principles of the European peace order," Baerbock said in a statement.

She added that the conference offered a chance "to discuss how we can still counter the logic of threats of violence and military escalation with the logic of dialogue."

"Even tiny steps towards peace are better than big steps towards war. But we also need serious steps towards de-escalation from Russia," she said. "Declarations of willingness to talk must be backed up by real offers to talk. Declarations of troop withdrawals must be backed up by verifiable troop withdrawals."