MOSCOW: The Russian reaction to Western airstrikes in Syria is a mix of relief and anger. The country’s parliament is discussing sanctions against the United States. DW’s Miodrag Soric reports from Moscow.Western allied airstrikes on targets in Syria have further strained relations with Russia. Washington is preparing to a new round of economic sanctions against Russia. And parliamentarians in the Russian Duma are considering retaliatory sanctions, which could be unveiled in the course of this week. Russia’s stock exchange opened the week down on speculation that the already hard-hit ruble will tumble further.More sanctions are further evidence that the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine are in urgent need of resolution, AHK Chairman Matthias Schepp told DW. “Regardless of the political situation, the German private sector is invested in Russia like no other,” he said. “This was and is the case, and will remain so.”
The US-led airstrikes have been met in Russia with a mix of relief and anger, said Pavel Felgenhauer, a defense expert working for the Russian opposition newspaper, Novaja Gazeta. Relief, because no Russians were killed in the strikes. Anger and condemnation, because of the West’s decision to proceed militarily at all, even if the action has been widely understood as more symbolic than anything.
