German AfD Party Leader Calls West's Anti-Russian Sanctions 'Senseless'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Alexander Gauland, leader of the party Alternative for Germany (AfD), has said that Western sanctions against Russia are "senseless" and harmful to the Russian and German economies.

"Sanctions are senseless and harmful for our two countries' economies. Many German business associations also talk about this," Gauland told the newspaper Izvestia in an interview published on Tuesday.

Gauland also expressed regret that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put US interests higher than the interests of Germany and ignored the negative consequences of sanctions policy on the nation's economy and relations with Moscow.

Several rounds of EU sanctions against Russia have been in place since 2014; after Crimea's reunification with Russia and Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has refuted all the accusations and taken retaliatory economic restrictions.

The sanctions were renewed for another six months in early July.

READ MORE: Germany’s AfD Party Passes Resolution to Lift EU Sanctions Against Syria

Gerold Otten, a member of the German Bundestag's defense committee from the Alternative for Germany party earlier said that Europe and Russia can start cooperating by addressing common security challenges, in particular, by creating a joint structure for counterterrorism organizations to address the global threat of extremism.