The Association of European Businesses (AEB) in Russia said it disagreed strongly with the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russian companies and banks which are not involved in the Ukrainian crisis.
The AEB “expresses its strong disagreement with the new U.S. sanctions against Russian companies and banks which are not involved in the Ukrainian crisis,” the AEB said in a press release.
“The AEB notes that these companies and banks are reliable and long-term partners of many European companies. The AEB also notes that these sanctions are more focused on the partners of the European businesses than on the partners of American companies,” it said.
The AEB “regrets also the new EU sanctions concerning the activity of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB) in Russia, which might also affect the general reliability of these two European financial institutions in other markets.”
“Those organizations [are] actively involved in promoting and implementing European values, projects to support humanitarian and sustainable development, and any limitations of their activity would have negative impact on future long-term EU – Russian relations.” The AEB said.
“The AEB re-states its position against economic sanctions towards Russia and promotes the de-escalation for all the parties. The Association thinks that this escalation through the sanctions could affect the business of European companies and economic growth not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine and in the EU,” the AEB said.
