BASF CEO Kurt Bock: We Have Concerns About The Effectiveness Of Sanctions

As European leaders propose further sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, the chief executive of BASF, Kurt Bock, expressed concerns about their effectiveness.

Kurt Bock said in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) that he was hoping for a quick resolution of the crisis so his company could get back to business as usual. "Put yourself into our position. We have customers in those countries. Customers we have dealt with for many, many years, sometimes decades, and we have a very trustful relationship with these customers. We want to continue to serve these customers and they also rely on BASF as a supplier. So that has to be our foremost concern," he said.

Talks of further sanctions against Russia have already unsettled some multinational firms. Bock noted that BASF was already feeling the effect of previous sanctions against Russia and was wary to what extent further ones may affect the company's profitability and the economy as a whole.

"We do business in Russia and Ukraine. It's about 2 percent of our sales and we have seen quite a decline, mostly currency-related in Russia, but heavy decline in Ukraine, which is very important for our crop protection business. This will most probably continue over the course of the year," he said.

"We have said, however, several times, that we have certain concerns about the effectiveness of sanctions. But that is something politicians have to decide right now. If sanctions will be hardened we will comply certainly."