The coronavirus pandemic could be the basis for considering lifting European sanctions from Russia, said the Head of the German-Russian forum, former Prime Minister of the federal state of Brandenburg Matthias Platzek, as part of a video conference in Berlin.
“Perhaps this coronavirus pandemic could, at least, become an occasion to once again evaluate and say: if sanctions for half a decade have not changed anything in the direction that we meant, but have produced the exact opposite effect, then we must be able to evaluate this development and say that perhaps new approaches are needed”, Platzek said.
He added that, “from a moral point of view”, he considers an approach that would mix “Crimean issues and East Ukrainian” to be wrong. In the Crimea, according to Platzek, “most of the people living there are satisfied with the situation, because “there is no war”, people’s lives are “not threatened”. In the Donbass, a “completely different situation” has developed, military operations continue there, people live in “inappropriate conditions”, the Head of the forum said.
“I can imagine that in the event of such a distinction, advancement will be achieved in this issue. Ultimately, we all say this, it is heard from all sides – the coronavirus pandemic has become the biggest challenge to the world community since the Second World War. Perhaps it’s necessary to have the strength and courage to review things that are of primary importance, and I attribute these sanctions to them. And to say: we have other problems now, let’s take a step forward”, – Platzek said.