Before the general elections in Germany, representatives of all the major political parties declared that improving relationships with Russia was important for them. The majority supported at least a partial lifting of sanctions...
“The Russians will probably win this one”, wrote Kenneth Rapoza in forbes.com, referring to the natural gas competition between Russia and the USA – the US LNG versus Russian pipeline.
Banks with Russian capital, which have so far maintained a strong position in Ukraine, are now slowly preparing to retreat.
The way in which the Germans circumvent the economic sanctions introduced by the EU after the annexation of Crimea and the Russian embargo on food from Europe, are FDIs in Russia.
The Czech Republic sees Russia as one of its key trade and economic partners and would like to curb current negative trade dynamics, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mladek told the Russian news agency TASS.
When the leaders of the EU states decided to extend economic sanctions imposed on Russia by another half a year, Polish producers received this news calmly.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is considering entering the path of a trade war with Russia, as it opposes the trade part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement which was initially supposed to become effective a year ago.
Russian banks, subject to sanctions in the West, have found a safe haven in Ukraine, a country at war with Russia.