Anti-Russian EU sanctions caused economic damage to Germany and did not change the situation in Ukraine, stated the Prime Minister of Thuringia (FRG) Bodo Ramelov.

He called the sanctions "a dead nag that can not be traveled any more", stressing that the situation in Ukraine can not be solved with the help of a "symbolic policy", for the consequences of which as a result, German companies.

Ramelov called on the authorities of the East German lands, which suffered more than other regions of the FRG from sanctions, to work out a unified position on this issue and defend it before the government in Berlin, as well as in Brussels.

This initiative has already been supported by the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Rainer Haseloff, who, as dpa reports, is going to raise the issue of sanctions for the agenda of the meeting with colleagues in Berlin on Monday.

There is a possibility that the initiative of the eastern regions (such as Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia) will support other federal states. Ramelov, for example, believes that Bayern can do this.

The possibility of a phased withdrawal from Russia of sanctions was repeatedly spoken by German Foreign Minister Zigmar Gabriel and his predecessor Frank-Walter Steinmeier. But for this, they emphasize, significant progress is needed in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

EU sanctions against Russia have been in force since the summer of 2014. They were repeatedly prolonged, and it is expected that at the end of January they will prolong for another six months.