Hypocrisy: EU seeks aid from WTO for Russian sanctions that hurt their economy

The most important thing to remember about economic sanctions is that they are used by a nation against another to achieve political, not financial goals.

German business lobby group calls EU sanctions a mistake

(Reuters) - The European Union's new economic sanctions against Russia are a "mistake" because they were imposed just as a week-old ceasefire was bringing calm to the embattled east of Ukraine, the leader of a German business lobby group was quoted saying on Sunday.

Germany's Merkel Gets Tough on Russia

Angela Merkel wasn’t in a hurry to inflict economic pain on Moscow. Cautious, pragmatic, and mindful of her country’s business ties to Russia, the German chancellor doggedly tried to defuse the Ukraine crisis through back-channel diplomacy and frequent phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin.