VIENNA — Additional sanctions against Russia would inflame tensions between Moscow and Kiev, Austria's chancellor said on Wednesday, urging de-escalation of the conflict instead.
"I would fundamentally support what the German foreign minister [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier made clear again today: that conflict between Russia and Ukraine should not be inflamed by additional sanctions, but on the contrary, that de-escalation is what is required," Werner Faymann told reporters after the Austrian government's weekly cabinet meeting.
"I support that 100 percent."
He added that the Austrian Central Bank and Finance Ministry were working on a factual assessment of the potential consequences of sanctions scenarios posed by the EU.
See related story:
EU Ministers to Discuss Tougher Russia Sanctions
