Over 50% of German business affected by Russia-West sanctions confrontation — expert

Economy

December 09, 14:32 UTC+3
According to Chairman of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, 72% of German business people consider sanctions against Russia politically ineffective

© AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

© TASS/EPA/RAINER JENSEN

Merkel says sanctions against Russia still necessary

YEKATERINBURG, December 9. /TASS/. More than a half of German entrepreneurs are affected by Western sanctions against Russia and Moscow’s retaliatory measures, Chairman of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce Michael Harms told an energy forum on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, three-fourths of German business representatives consider the Russian market as promising, he said.

“However, 60% of entrepreneurs have felt the reverse effect of the EU’s sanctions against Russia and Russia’s retaliatory measures,” he said. “This is very deplorable from the viewpoint of developing our cooperation,” the German business official said.

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Also, 72% of German business people say that sanctions against Russia “are politically ineffective,” he said.

Economic relations between Russia and Germany need to be reset, Harms said, praising the idea advanced by Russia’s leadership to create a free trade zone from Lisbon to Russia’s Pacific port of Vladivostok.

“Perhaps, today this theme does not sound to be very topical, considering the political situation, but this is an absolutely proper response to the challenges of the time. If we manage to create such a free trade zone, a common economic space between the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU, this would give a gigantic impulse to our joint economic integration,” Harms said.

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