(VOVworld) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that the crisis in Ukraine should be resolved by political means instead of economic sanctions against Russia.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Photo: Reuters)

Merkel said the EU has applied “level 2” sanctions against Russia, but it has not reached “level 3” measures, which would include economic sanctions, except for goods in Crimea. Merkel expressed her hope that Russia could dodge the next sanctions. She said economic contacts are still happening and Berlin hopes to ease the current tension. She warned, however, that the EU is ready, along with the US, to impose tougher sanctions against Russia if any more international regulations are broken.

Meanwhile, German economists say economic sanctions against Russia would hurt Germany’s economy. German-Russian trade in 2013 totaled 76 billion euros, and some 6,000 German companies do business with Russian companies. Some 300,000 jobs in Germany depend on economic relations with Russia.