MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Upcoming presidential and federal elections in Austria, France and Germany will hopefully bring a change of leadership which will be in favor of the end of using sanctions against Moscow, leader of Italy's Lega Nord party Matteo Salvini told Sputnik on Friday.
"We, Lega Nord, have attempted many times in our parliament and the European Parliament to lift anti-Russia sanctions and resume a normal dialogue with Russia. We hope the next elections in Austria, France and Germany will change their governments, which will help us fight against all these stupid [sanctions]," Salvini said.
The relationship between Russia and the European Union soured after Crimean peninsula seceded from Ukraine and reunified with Russia as more than 96 percent of local voters supported the move in a referendum in March 2014. The Western countries, including the EU members, have not recognized the legitimacy of the vote, imposing several rounds of sanctions on Russia.
The rerun of the Austrian presidential election is scheduled for December 4, while presidential election in France and federal elections in Germany are set to be held in 2017.
