“I hope that (in 2020) there will be progress (regarding the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions). I don’t know how quickly this will succeed, ”said Stegner.
He added that if everything depended only on the German side, then this issue would be resolved faster.
Stegner also noted that in the interests of Germany overcoming sanctions. The German politician believes that "the more one succeeds in advancing according to the Minsk agreements, the Norman format and the Steinmeier formula, the sooner there will be no sanctions."
He concluded that restrictions were of no use to anyone.
Earlier, the leader of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, advocated for the FRG to have good neighborly relations with Russia.