Germany has voiced its support for tougher sanctions on Russia's economy during a European Union (EU) meeting in Brussels on Monday, even with Berlin being one of Moscow's largest trading partners.

Last year, Germany's exports to Russia reached nearly 36 billion Euros, roughly a third of the EU's total, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Despite possible negative impact on Germany's market, Christiane Wirtz, deputy spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said during a news briefing on Monday that the German government intends to back broad sector-specific economic sanctions against Russia, adding that these measures would serve as a strong and clear message to the latter.

She said the situation changed after Malaysian Airline Flight 17 was shot down by pro-Russian separatists last month, resulting in the deaths of 298 people.

Wertz noted Russia's apparent lack of interest in assisting investigations of the downed airline and its lack of effort in trying to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, adding that Moscow has yet to follow through on its promise to stop supplying weapons in the region.

And while EU talks on the sanctions are expected to conclude on Tuesday, Wertz said Merkel is willing to attend further talks in another EU summit if need be.

Meanwhile, Berlin's main business group said on Monday that the sanctions on Russia could help resolve the Ukraine crisis but may be potentially damaging to the EU and German economies.

In an article for German publication Handelsblatt, Federation of German Industry (BDI) group head Ulrich Grillo condemned the Russian government's behavior in dealing with the Ukrainian conflict and called for "noticeable consequences."

He said that even if the sanctions would hurt the country's business sector and export market, these should "not be ruled out as a way to apply pressure on the Russian government."

Likewise, Germany's Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble urged citizens to put peace above economic considerations and to accept the sanctions on Russia.

TagsEU, European Union, EU Summit, Christiane Wirtz, angela merkel, Federation of German Industry, BDI, Ulrich Grillo, Wolfgang Schaeuble, russian economy, German economy, European market, MH17, Ukraine crisis