BERLIN, May 30. /TASS/. Pursuing the path of sanctions is wrong amid the coronavirus pandemic, where there is a need to revive the global economy, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in an exclusive interview with TASS.
"It will be difficult to offset the huge economic losses the world has suffered," said Schroeder, who served as German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005.
According to him, "given the current situation on the global market, where there is a need to facilitate the economic recovery, the path of mutual sanctions is indeed a wrong one."
Schroeder pointed out that Russia needed to boost the national economy amid the pandemic. "The [Russian] government has taken measures to get things on the right track," he noted. "Some weaknesses in the health care system can be seen at the moment. I think that the president and the government will address them as soon as possible," the ex-German chancellor said. "However, I would like to reiterate that given the current situation, sanctions need to be reviewed," he concluded.
In 2014, the European Union began to impose sanctions on Moscow over the situation in Ukraine and Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Economic restrictions were introduced, some Russian officials were barred from entering the EU, their assets were frozen. In response, Russia banned the import of a number of food products from EU countries.