Angela Merkel: Sanctions are the only tool to press on Russia

Russia's actions in Donbas cannot be left without consequences.

The statement was made by German's Chancellor Angela Merkel in an interview with German rbb-Inforadio on September 9, Deutsche Welle reports.

“Russia's direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict is very obvious. Its actions cannot be left without consequences. However, the German government does not have any doubts that the conflict cannot be solved by military means,” Angela Merkel said.

The German Chancellor is convinced that sanctions are the only tool to put pressure on Russia that helps terrorists in Ukraine. “We should make it clear that sanctions will be lifted once the situation comes back to normal,” the head of the German government noted.

Despite NATO's plans to form a new rapid response force, the German Chancellor is not going to increase the budget of the country's Defence Ministry. The Ministry will get additional financial means after the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr troops from Afghanistan, according to her.

The European Council has approved a new package of sanctions against Russia.