Interview: Negotiations, not sanctions, are the only way out of Ukraine crisis, says Thai official

BANGKOK, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Sanctions often do not work well and may cause devastating impacts in certain cases, while negotiations are the only way out of the Ukraine crisis, a Thai official has said.

"Sanctions, especially economic sanctions, often do not work well, but hurt the people of those targeted countries," Panitan Wattanayagorn, chairman of Thai prime minister's Security Advisory Committee, said of the West-imposed sanctions on Russia.

"Sanctions seem to be one of the most often used tools to perhaps increase the weight of pressure on negotiations, but in the new era, we are all connected in a global market. Sanctions imposed on one country will hurt many others, and eventually may also hurt the country that imposed the sanctions," Panitan told Xinhua in a recent interview.

European countries will suffer the most from the conflict because of their interdependence with Russia in terms of energy, industries, traveling and agricultural products, among others, Panitan said.

"They are suffering already in the short run as they have to pay higher prices for energy and seek alternative supplies," he said.

Panitan noted that in the longer run, the impact will be felt on the supply chain as some factories will not go back to production soon in Ukraine.

Negotiations will be the only way out of this crisis, he noted, adding that the parties concerned must sit down and talk for an early restoration of peace.

"We hope the conflict will be settled with more peaceful solutions, and will not be a protracted or prolonged one like those in the Middle East," he said.