MOSCOW (Sputnik) — An overwhelming majority (97 percent) of German companies working in Russia expressed their opposition to new US sanctions against Moscow, a poll showed on Wednesday.
13 September 2017, 13:55 GMT
The survey carried out by the Russian-German Chamber of Foreign Trade (AHK) among 193 German companies working in Russia revealed that as many as 97 percents of respondents said they viewed sanctions "negatively" or "quite negatively," Chamber President Rainer Seele and AHK board chairman Matthias Schepp said at a press conference, presenting the survey results.
"German business in Russia rejects the US sanctions bill, which was adopted unilaterally," Seele stressed.
The poll also showed that 52 percent of members of the Chamber believed that the US restrictive measures could affect their businesses.
13 September 2017, 11:30 GMT
At the same time, according to the survey, the bill had almost no impact on the long-term plans of German firms in Russia, as 72 percent of respondents were planning to keep their business activity in the country at the same level.
On August 2, US President Donald Trump signed a bill on new sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, with new restrictive measures targeting Russia's financial and energy sectors. The new sanctions, in particular, target Russian energy projects. The step triggered criticism from some EU officials.
