DAVOS, January 24. / TASS /. The escalation of geopolitical tensions in the world continues, which means that the trend for sanctions, including those against Russia, will continue, head of Sberbank German Gref told reporters on Thursday at the Davos Economic Forum.

"As for sanctions, we see so far that the geopolitical escalation continues, so we will still see this trend. But I really want to see it end, of course," said Gref. According to Gref, sanctions are a trend indicative of de-globalization.

"And I don’t think that we can see the positive consequences of these sanctions. What has changed? The introduction of these sanctions, especially against large countries, leads to the fact that these problems become chronic, and the country against which sanctions were imposed simply cannot give way. This becomes not a matter of rational behavior, but a matter of dignity," Gref explained. According to him, to solve current geopolitical conflicts, it is necessary to "have patience and more emotional intelligence."

According to Gref, there is a problem of training leaders; their ability to speak in plain language today is the number one problem. At the same time, he chose not to comment on the events in Venezuela, where protests against President Nicolas Maduro are taking place, and their influence on the country's economy: "I don’t like to evaluate political processes, I am an entrepreneur," he said.