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Anti-Russian sanctions

German Vice Chancellor says did not discuss lifting of sanctions with Russian minister

Sigmar Gabriel says problems linked with investments into the Russian economy stem not from the sanctions but from doubts in the stability of basic conditions for investing activities

© EPA/Radek Pietruszka

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Critical mass accumulated in EU for lifting of sanctions against Russia - envoy to EU

BERLIN, February 19. /TASS/. Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economics and Energy Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday he did not discuss a possibility of lifting Europe’s anti-Russian sanctions at his meeting with Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev.

"As you know, there is a condition for lifting the sanctions - it is the implementation of the Minsk protocol," he told a news conference. "We spoke about the sectors not affected by the sanctions."

He said problems linked with investments into the Russian economy stem not from the sanctions but from doubts in the stability of basic conditions for investing activities. Companies, in his words, are worried that the sanctions could be extended. Moreover, they cannot predict further development of relations between Europe and Germany on the one hand, and between Europe and Russia, on the other.

"A path to the improvement of the investment climate depends not only with the implementation of the Minsk package but on other problems as well, such as, for instance, readiness for cooperation on Syria," he said. In his words, each bomb dropped in Syria, which is attributed to Russia, obviously, adds to insecurity of German investors about the future of the Russian-German relations.

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