MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - Anti-Russian sanctions cannot last forever, said German Ambassador to Russia Rudiger von Fritsch.
However the West will never recognize Crimea's integration with Russia, he said.
"Concerning sanctions they are an instrument used to achieve a goal. They are not a penalty and they can be lifted if the goal has been achieved. Sanctions have negative consequences and will be lifted sooner or later," he told students of the Moscow Lomonosov University (MGU) on Monday.
The German ambassador made a point, however, that the West would never recognize Crimea's integration with Russia.
"This annexation will not disappear. It will remain an annexation, he said.
"History is evolving, but we can say with certainly that the West will never accept this annexation," the German ambassador said.
Berlin is interested in normalizing relations with Moscow and sees no alternative to that, he said.
"We have set ourselves the goal of returning to good relations with Russia. Such relations have no alternative," he said.
"As a diplomat I have a cautious position. But we are probably on a track that will lead us to success," the German ambassador said.