Switzerland has rejected pleas from other European countries hit by the Russian food embargo to export their products via its territory in the latest twist of the sanctions war, says The Wall Street Journal.

      Earlier, Switzerland announced it will not help Russia to bypass the EU’s restrictions, either.

      The appeal comes after the Russian government introduced a food ban from the countries that issued sanctions against Moscow over its alleged role in the Ukraine crisis.

      There’ve been many projections of the economic effect of the sanctions. Some said they will hurt the Russian economy by €23 billion this year (1.5 percent of its GDP) and €75 billion in 2015 (4.8 percent of its GDP).

      According to The Economist, the pain Russian firms will suffer from these sanctions could go up to one trillion US dollars (€744bn).

      But one thing is certain – the EU will also be hurt by the capital markets restrictions and trade bans for defense, high technology and goods that can be used both for military and defense purposes.

      There’s been a lot of concern from southern member states, including Greece and Italy, where fragile economic growth could give way to recession.

      In Germany, the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, a powerful lobby group, said about 350,000 German jobs are under threat.