BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Monday rejected a European Union embargo on Russian gas imports as mounting civilian deaths in Ukraine increase pressure on the bloc to impose sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. “We are dealing with a criminal war,” Lindner said before talks with his EU colleagues in Brussels. “It is clear we must end as quickly as possible all economic ties to Russia. We must plan tough sanctions, but gas cannot be substituted in the short term. We would inflict more damage on ourselves than on them.” Lindner suggested that instead of a…