Kallas considers sanctions against russia to be a trump card that should not be abandoned

“We should not underestimate our own strength, because we see that their economy is in a very bad situation: their national fund is almost completely depleted, and the interest rate of the National Bank is over 20%, which, by the way, is worse than in Haiti. They cannot raise capital abroad because of the sanctions. They don't get the oil and gas revenues they used to get, and their labor market is in a very bad state,” Callas said.

The EU's top diplomat called the sanctions imposed on russia a trump card that should not be given up.

“Why do russians want sanctions lifted? Because they hurt them, and they want to return to 'business as usual'. This is the trump card we hold in our hands and we should not give it away,” Kallas said.

She also noted that the russians want the West to believe that they are strong, but they are not, “and we should not fall into that trap.”

Source: Euractive