New sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union will have a major impact on the Russian economy, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) predicted on Friday. “The short-term effects will be drastic, because, at many points, there will not be relative restrictions, but rather genuine interruptions, a comprehensive halt to cooperation,” BDI President Siegfried Russwurm told dpa. But to talk about the long term effects would be pure speculation, Russwurm added. The BDI foresees the strongest effects on German industry in the energy sector, in particular in gas. “This problem o…