Russia sanctions not working: Ex-Shell CEO

Jeroen van der Veer, the former CEO of oil company Shell, has said the sanctions against Russia are not having the required effect.

“The sanctions do not work. They lead to counter sanctions, which lead to frustration and never solve anything. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s popularity in Russia does not wane in the wake of the sanctions. It increases,” Van der Veer said on Sunday in the TV-program Buitenhof. Van der Veer, who dealt with Putin during his tenure as CEO of Shell, said the conflict requires a diplomatic solution. “That is difficult to achieve. Moskow and Kiev should be willing to talk and Russia should respect the Ukrainian borders,” he said. The former CEO has first hand experience with Putin iron fist. The Russian pressured him in 2006 into agreeing to a backseat for Shell in the Sachalin-II project. Putin was not in favor of foreign companies controlling the oil project on the Russian archipelago Sachalin and Shell was forced into accepting a junior partner role; Russian state oil company Gasprom took the lead.