Merkel says Russia sanctions still necessary

PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday, Nov 25, economic sanctions against Russia for Moscow’s position on Ukrainian developments are still necessary, TASS reports.

“They (sanctions) are inevitable while Russia makes no or few efforts to overcome the crisis,” Merkel said at a congress of European Family Business in Berlin.

She admitted that the sanctions negatively affect the European economy, including Germany.

Russian officials and companies came under the first batch of sanctions, including visa bans and assets freezing. New penalties against Russia were announced in late July, when Moscow responded with a one-year ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United States and Norway.