German foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer defended the EU’s decision to sanction three companies and three Russian politicians following the diversion of gas turbines to Crimea, at a press conference in Berlin on Monday.
“I think this says more than a thousand words about how we, the German Government and the EU, are ready to sanction all the measures” he said adding “I think this is a proof of the united attitude of Europe and Germany toward this topic.”
SOT, Martin Schaefer, Spokesperson of German Foreign Ministry (German): “We intensely discussed the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia with our European partners in the past days and the European Union published a procedure in the official journal what we consider right on Friday: because of the shipment against the agreements of the Siemens gas turbine – with a completely different purpose that has nothing to do with Crimea – delivered and sold to Russia, and later transported to Crimea with the open permission of the Russian Ministry of Energy and the Russian Government, because this procedure is against the agreements, new sanctions were approved against three companies and three politicians responsible in Russia. I think this says more than a thousand words about how we, the German Government and the EU, are ready to sanction all the measures that tend, de facto, to pave the annexation of the Crimea, in this case through the gas supply from Russia. I think this is a proof of the united attitude of Europe and Germany toward this topic.”