According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, political sanctions against Russia should be strengthened while economic sanctions need to be lifted completely.
However, Professor Boris Shmelyov from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Center for International Economic and Political Studies told Sputnik Polska that the People’s Party leader’s proposal looks rather baffling.
"The EU sanctions against Russia are mostly economic in nature. And the political aspect of the EU sanctions is primarily aimed at decreasing the level of contact between Russia and the West. But as we can see, such contacts continue to take place at the highest political level: for example, recently there was a meeting in Sochi between Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel, and there’s another meeting between the presidents of Russia and the US scheduled to take place in Hamburg in July. So how can the political sanctions against Moscow possibly be ‘strengthened’?" Shmelyov inquired.
He also remarked that most likely Kosiniak-Kamysz did not voice his "extravagant idea" by accident as many people both in the EU and in Russia are interested in getting rid of the "mutual sanctions and embargoes."
"Poland lost over $1.5 billion due to the retaliatory trade embargo imposed by Moscow. Thousands of Polish fruit exporters lost their main market as half of the apples harvested in Poland had previously been shipped to Russia… However, the People’s Party leader’s proposal to increase dialogue between Moscow and Warsaw, and between Russia and the West in general, and yet for some reason he believes that Russia then will be eager to purchase Polish goods," he said.
Shmelyov noted however that even if the Western economic sanctions against Russia are lifted, it wouldn’t mean that Russia will immediately reciprocate the gesture and get rid of its counter-sanctions, including those imposed against Poland.
"We all want to live in peace with our neighbors, even though the current Polish government with its, frankly speaking, highly sensitive form of Russophobia is actively opposing it. It’s a pity that despite his medical background Mr. Kosiniak-Kamysz cannot cure this ailment," Shmelyov said.
