PARIS, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Europe should abandon malicious sanctions policy in favor of a sober and unemotional approach to Russia, the deputy of the National Assembly of France, co-chairman of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association Thierry Mariani said Thursday.
"Almost a year has passed since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, now it is time to abandon the malicious policy of sanctions in favor of a sober and unemotional approach to the Russian partners in the interests of Europe and France," the deputy said.
He believes that the European Union and its member states may become the victims of "short-sighted policy of sanctions".
Currently, the European Union is already forced to allocate substantial financial assistance, hundreds of millions of euros, to compensate for the losses of agricultural producers from the Russian embargo.
The deputy is of the opinion that "the crisis will pass, but Russia will remain, and it will remember for a long time those who once adopted a policy of sanctions." In this regard, Mariani has urged the parties to return to dialogue, so as "not to be in the pit that they themselves dug."
The relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis, as the United States and the European Union kept blaming Moscow for meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs.
Over the past few months, the Western countries have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia. In August, Moscow responded to the restrictive measures, implementing a one-year ban on certain food imports from the countries that imposed anti-Russian sanctions.
