Left-Wing Group in European Parliament Opposes Sanctions Against Russia

MOSCOW, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - The European United Left–Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament strongly oppose the imposition of sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, Deutsche Welle radio reported Friday.

According to the German radio station, the press secretary of the political group Sabine Loesing said that the European Union and NATO “brandish” sanctions, not Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Putin has been systematically demonized, described as a megalomaniac tyrant, but it's just the old tool of manipulation in the media,” Loesing was quoted as saying by Deutsche Welle.

According to the radio station, a number of politicians in the Bundestag also do not consider the sanctions against Russia effective.

“It is unlikely that sanctions against Russia will have an impact on its policy, because the country is prioritized differently," Deutsche Welle cited Gernot Erler, coordinator on the German-Russian Intersocietal Cooperation, as saying.

The West has introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its role in the Ukrainian crisis. In response, Russia has limited food imports from countries that imposed sanctions on it, namely the United States, European Union member states, Canada, Australia and Norway.