Speaker of Parliament: Sanctions against Russia are useless

The sanctions of European Union countries against Russia are unnecessary and Russia itself is benefiting from them through the development of its domestic production, said Slovak Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) on Monday when opening the Slovak-Russian business forum in Russia. It's not the first time Danko has criticized the sanctions, which were imposed in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and have recently been extended for another half a year. Last autumn he outlined his effort to welcome to Slovakia the Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, who is on the EU sanctions list. Then President Andrej Kiska openly criticized him for his statements, while Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said Slovakia stood by the EU's decisions but has the right to express its own opinions too.