Chancellor Angela Merkel won industry support as she stepped up her threat of sanctions against Russia , saying that Germany could withstand the economic impact of any measures taken. Merkel, speaking in Munich today, compared the 76 billion euros ($106 billion) in bilateral trade with Russia with the more than 60 billion euros in trade Germany has with its neighbor, the Czech Republic, a nation of 10 million people. Russia has a population of about 142 million. “That shows that there is a dimension there, but not to such an extent that it would have an impact on Germany’s entire economic engagement,” Merkel said. Ulrich Grillo, president of Germany’s BDI industry federation, told the same event that he “fully” supports the chancellor during the crisis in Ukraine . A day after she warned Russia that it risked “massive economic and political harm” if it didn’t change course, Merkel maintained […]