The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmann, called the EU sanctions against Russian oil and gas a mistake.
“I have warned from the very beginning against sanctions that could harm us. High energy prices are very difficult for German industry. We can invest in our security and defense capabilities when our economy is strong, so I think the sanctions against oil and gas were a mistake“, Kretschmann said.
He added that he is generally not against sanctions as a foreign policy tool, stating that he considers sanctions against “oligarchs“ to be correct, as well as the confiscation of their assets. The politician also agreed with the journalist's comment that sanctions have supposedly weakened the Russian economy, but added that “history teaches us that Russians have a high level of tolerance”.