Austrian Municipalities Estimate Losses From Russia Sanctions At $100Bln- Ex-Mayor Of Linz

Austrian Municipalities Estimate Losses From Russia Sanctions at $100Bln- Ex-Mayor of Linz

Some Austrian municipalities believe that the anti-Russia sanctions, imposed by Western countries, have cost the European country some $100 billion, Detlef Wimmer, former mayor of the Austrian northern city of Linz, said on Saturday

YALTA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2019) Some Austrian municipalities believe that the anti-Russia sanctions, imposed by Western countries, have cost the European country some $100 billion, Detlef Wimmer, former mayor of the Austrian northern city of Linz, said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Russia has proved to be resilient amid the restrictive measures, the former mayor said at the Yalta International Economic Forum, noting that many infrastructure facilities had been built in Crimea since its reunification with Russia.

On April 10, Hubert Bertsch, the vice president of the Austrian association of industrialists and a member of the Austrian-Russian business Council, said that the sanctions against Russia should be lifted and called for creation of a free trade area "from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

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Since 2014, when the Ukrainian crisis erupted and Crimea rejoined Russia as a result of a referendum, the United States and other western countries have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Moscow, claiming it had a role in the conflict and opposing the reunification. Russia denied its involvement in the Ukrainian crisis and insisted that the Crimean referendum was carried out in line with international norms. Moreover, Moscow responded by introducing an embargo on food products originating from the countries that targeted it with sanctions.