dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

German AfD Party Leader Calls West's Anti-Russian Sanctions 'Senseless'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Alexander Gauland, the leader of Alternative for Germany party (AfD), said that Western sanctions against Russia are 'senseless' and harmful for Russian and German economies.

"Sanctions are senseless and harmful for our two countries' economies. Many German business associations also talk about this," Gauland told Izvestia newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday.

Gauland also expressed regret that German Chancellor Angela Merkel put the US interests higher than the interests of Germany and ignored the negative consequences of sanctions policy for the national economy and relations with Moscow.

Several rounds of EU sanctions against Russia have been in place since 2014 after Crimea's reunification with Russia and Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has refuted all the accusations and took retaliatory economic restrictions.

The sanctions were renewed for another six month in early July.

READ MORE: Germany’s AfD Party Passes Resolution to Lift EU Sanctions Against Syria

Earlier, Gerold Otten, a member of the German Bundestag's defense committee from the Alternative for Germany party said that Europe and Russia can start cooperation by addressing common security challenges, in particular, by creating a joint structure of counterterrorism organizations to address the global threat of extremism.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201807241066629226-afd-leader-russia-sanctions-senseless/