Germany's AfD Wants EU To Immediately Lift Economic Sanctions On Russia

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th May, 2021) The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party wants the European Union to immediately lift economic sanctions on Russia due to their detrimental effect on the eastern German states, the party's co-leader Tino Chrupalla told Sputnik.

"Peace in Europe and the world is one of AfD's priorities. Good relations with Russia play a major role in it, because we see Russia as part of Europe. That's why the sanctions policy against Russia should be immediately stopped," he said.

Chrupalla, a member of the German parliament, said his party wanted to promote understanding between the people of Germany and Russia.

He said sanctions were hurting both economies.

"Sanctions are doing damage both to Russia and Germany. business people in eastern Germany, who fostered good economic relationships with Russia for years, have been hit the hardest," he explained.

The EU slapped Russia with rounds of hefty economic sanctions in response to a referendum in Crimea, which saw a vast majority of the population vote for the Black Sea region to secede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia. Russia responded to the sanctions with tit-for-tat bans on EU imports.