Sanctions against Russia damaged Europe, French President’s special envoy for security cooperation with Russia, Pierre Vimont, responsible for restarting the dialogue with Moscow, said at the meeting of the French Senate Commission on Foreign Affairs.
According to him, European sanctions against Russia have reduced trade not only in France and Germany, but throughout Europe. He recalled the discontent of Italy, which had a high level of trade relations with the Russian Federation.
“Italy is one of those countries that regularly try to propose thinking about revising their position (under sanctions)… Therefore, we were really damaged by these sanctions. However, if you look at the figures, then trade between Russia and the USA, on the contrary, has increased”, – Vimon was quoted as saying.
Another result of the sanctions called by him was the development of agriculture in Russia. In addition, he said that the measures introduced “pushed Russia to China, which has become a priority partner, in particular, in the field of new technologies”.
Due to the crisis in Ukraine, sanctions remain a “rare political weapon” for Europe, Wimon emphasized.
“The answer that we can give our Russian partners is openness, including on the Ukrainian dossier. And from now on, we will have arguments to start thinking about changing our position (under sanctions)”, – he said.