Anti-Russian sanctions benefit only US firms at Europe’s expense, says German politician

Economic penalties against Russia target the European Union and are only beneficial to US corporations, according to Stefan Keuter, a German lawmaker from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

“Sanctions against Russia do not serve the interest of German companies, such [as] Siemens or pharmaceutical firms. Did they benefit from the penalties? What’s the use of the measures?” the politician said at the Yalta International Economic Forum (YIEF) in Crimea.

“They [sanctions] help exceptionally the US companies, which are trying to expand their presence at the European market,” Keuter said. “The strategy doesn’t target Russia alone, but the EU and Germany as well.”

According to Bundestag MP, some of the EU member states have been weakening economically, while their relations with Russia have significantly deteriorated.

Keuter stressed that the penalties announced against Moscow in 2014 are inevitably leading to a breach of international agreements, a shrinking of investment activity, and are preventing countries and companies from sharing technologies and various know-how, as well as leading to political turbulence that may cause decline in living standards.

Relations between Russia and Western countries have declined dramatically over the past five years, after economic penalties imposed by Washington were supported by Brussels. The measures were taken in response to Moscow’s alleged involvement in the crisis in Eastern Ukraine and following the Crimean referendum to secede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia. Kremlin responded with counter-sanctions, having phased out traditional American and European imports from the Russian market.

Over the past three years, politicians from the European countries have been repeatedly calling for the cancellation of punitive measures as they have become a major hurdle for businesses and economic growth.

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