EU sanctions against Russia irritate German businesses, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote.
A recent survey of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations among more than 110 companies showed that 57% of enterprises are in favor of a step-by-step lifting of sanctions against Moscow, while 37% support an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of economic restrictions.
Only 5% of survey participants expressed their support for the sanctions to stay in place.
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Many hope that the re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russian President will give Russia-EU ties a new impetus and improve conditions for business cooperation.
According to the chairman of the CDU office in Thuringia, Mike Moring, firms that are based in this federal state and conduct business with Russia have lost up to 30 percent of their turnover, which is "unacceptable in perspective."
The newspaper also stressed that German companies almost never receive bank loans, if it is a question of business relations with Russia.
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The trade turnover between Russia and the European Union fell by $114 billion by the end of 2015 alone, with Germany being particularly hard hit and its economy losing more than $17 billion, according to a research published in December by the Kiel Institute of the World Economy.
Earlier, in 2014, the US and other Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia amid Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and Crimea's reunification with Russia.
In response, Russian authorities took retaliatory measures, limiting exports from a number of EU countries, the US, Australia and Canada.
