The political benefits of economic pressure on Russia are dubious, but the damage is obvious.
This statement was made by the head of the government of the federal state of Lower Saxony, Stefan Weil, sharing the opinion of his colleague from Saxony, Michael Kretschmer.
“Year after year, we see more and more how the sanctions only harm each of the parties, whereas there is no political benefit,” the political newspaper Contra Magazin quotes. According to the politician, it is time for Western countries to drop their naivety and move on to real politics.
The outlet noted that the restrictions of the West had hit the German engineering industry. In particular, the head of The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, Karl Martin Welker, has already appealed to the German federal authorities to “double-check” whether there was any advantage from the sanctions imposed against Russia. “The political effect of anti-Russian sanctions is zero, but the damage from them to firms that have collaborated with the Russian Federation is enormous,” said Welker.