"Austria and especially me personally are very much in favor of discontinuing these sanctions because they have done a lot harm to the economy, a lot of jobs were lost and in my opinion it is time for this blockage to be stopped. It is very difficult to make prognosis on human reasoning, however, with all due respect, one should really consider lifting these sanctions during the course of the next year," Hofer said.
In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated amid the crisis in Ukraine. Brussels, Washington and their allies imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia over Crimea's secession from Ukraine and Moscow's alleged meddling in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has repeatedly refuted the accusations, and warned that the sanctions are counterproductive and undermine regional and global stability.
