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Photo by Costas Baltas (Reuters / Scanpix)
The European Union is responsible for the poor state of relations with Russia, but if Brussels decides to reestablish ties, Moscow will respond at the same time, Russia’s head of diplomacy Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.
“We must be prepared for any event. The decision must be made by the European Union: if it decides that relations still need to be restored and that the actions that alter them should be reversed, we will be prepared for that too,” Lavrov said during a press conference. in St. Petersburg. with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
The head of Russian diplomacy said that Moscow’s relations with the Community had long deteriorated and that Brussels was responsible for it.
“In principle, anyone who is at least somewhat interested in the situation in Europe has known for a long time that the EU has been constantly destroying relations for many years,” Lavrov said.
“The European Union has systematically dismantled all the mechanisms that existed without exception under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, including the biannual summits, including the annual meetings of the RF government with the European commissioners,” he added.
A. Lavrov also recalled the reduction of work in four common spaces and the termination of the activities of the sectoral commissions. “It’s all ruined and, I repeat, [sugriovėme] not us, ”he said.
According to the minister, Russia’s contacts with the EU as an organization are “currently sporadic”, related only to the supply of hydrocarbons or foreign policy issues.
He stressed that Moscow “currently has no problems with its current relations with individual European states, literally,” and even with most European states.
And the European Union should not be confused with Europe. We are not leaving Europe anywhere, in Europe we have many friends, many like-minded people. We will continue to develop mutually beneficial relationships with them, “said S. Lavrov.
The minister also added that, although “there are no relations, the development of commercial and economic relations continues, although not as fast as one would like due to the sanctions imposed by the European Union.”
“All of this just shows that life passes, and the deliberate disruption and damage and destruction of our entire existing relationship system does not affect the mutual attraction of people and businesses. Relations with the European Union are not important for this, “said S. Lavrov.
Last week, Lavrov warned that Moscow was ready to sever relations with the European Union if Brussels sought to impose new sanctions that would damage the Russian economy.
Russia-EU relations, which worsened since the Cold War in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea and incitement to war in eastern Ukraine, have deteriorated since the Russian court sent Alexei Navalna, a critic of the Kremlin. , to Russia from Germany for almost three years. he was treated with the nerve paralyzing substance “Novičiok” developed by Soviet scientists after his poisoning in August.
A Kremlin critic accused Russian special services and President Vladimir Putin of poisoning, but Russian authorities have denied the allegations.
His imprisonment sparked mass protests in Russia, during which more than 10,000 people were arrested.
Russia calls on US and EU criticism of Navaln’s arrest and imprisonment, as well as the crackdown on protests, interference in its internal affairs. Earlier this month, during a visit to Moscow by EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell, Russia announced the expulsion of German, Polish and Swedish diplomats involved in protests by Navaln supporters. In response to a provided response, the three EU countries each sent a Russian diplomat.
Haavisto emphasized strong EU criticism of Russia’s actions, noting that EU diplomats were on duty to monitor the protests. He reiterated the EU’s demand for the release of Navalna and the bloc’s criticism of the repression of the demonstrations.
The EU declined to comment
At the time, Borrell’s spokesman Peter Stano said the EU saw its own state of relations with Russia and addressed how to maintain them further.
“Everything has been said clearly and formally,” Stano told a brief press conference in Brussels on Monday, asking to comment on Lavrov’s words that relations with Russia were “constantly undermined by the EU.”
“We will not comment on each p. Lavrov’s statement every time he speaks. The facts and the position of Russia are important. It seems to me that I will only encourage him if I speak out about his statement, “Stano said.
According to a spokesperson for Mr. Borrell, “The European Union will continue to discuss and consider how to develop relations with Russia on the basis of Russian comments and positions, including what Mr. Porrell said, for example. Lavrov to his colleague Mr. Borrell ”when he visited Moscow from February 4-6.
But the block will depend on “more than that,” Stano added.
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