After the fiasco in Moscow, there was a powerful avalanche of criticism for Borrell: the greatest fears came true

Borrell’s critics, including former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Western diplomats, say a joint press conference on Friday between the EU’s foreign policy chief and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has responded to his biggest fears, reports voanews.com.

Shortly before the press conference, Kremlin officials said they had decided to send three EU diplomats (from Germany, Poland and Sweden) for allegedly participating in the unauthorized protests on January 23 in support of Alexei Navaln. It is likely that the timing of the publication of that judgment was deliberately chosen to humiliate Mr. Borrell.

Borrell was humiliated

Borrell, who went to Moscow on his own initiative (he was the first such EU official to visit Russia in four years), is now heavily criticized.

“The press conference held on Friday after the debate was an example of excellence and failure,” wrote Christian Trippe, director of Deutsche Welle’s Eastern Europe office, on Saturday. – At times, Mr. Borrell seemed like a poorly prepared student in a corner. Mr. Lavrov is known for his steadfast negotiations, but this time he has managed to deprive Mr. Borrell of his political dignity.

Before a press conference on Friday, former Spanish Foreign Minister Borrell warned Lavrov that his treatment of Navaln had “significantly worsened” EU-Russia relations and reiterated the EU’s demand for the release of the opposition.

However, this message was weakened when Borrell told Lavrov that no EU member state had yet proposed additional sanctions on Russia. Other EU officials have indicated that this information is incorrect.

Borrell’s visit, scheduled before more than 100 Russian cities and towns began protesting in support of Navaln, divided EU member states. Some of them have pressured Brussels to cancel the trip, fearing that the wrong time was chosen and that the visit would expose the helplessness of the EU.

The EU’s foreign policy chief has also been criticized for keeping quiet when Lavrov called the EU an “unreliable partner”, accused European leaders of lying about Navalna and rejected a Western conclusion confirmed by German, French and Swedish laboratories. and the Chemical Weapons Insurance Organization that Navaln was poisoned with Soviet-era combat nerve palsy.

“It’s just awful,” Verhofstadt wrote on Twitter, harshly criticizing Borrell for his lack of preparation. “It is not that Russia has mocked the EU, but that we have allowed that to happen.”

Borrell “just didn’t have to go to Moscow without a message from the EU and a mandate to announce new sanctions that would have made him even stronger,” the former Belgian prime minister said on Twitter.

The EU foreign policy chief is also criticized for failing to take opposition to the Kremlin’s last-minute decision to expel three EU diplomats more seriously.

“J. Borrell needs to think about resigning, ”said EU lawmaker and former Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Rasa Juknevičienė on Twitter, condemning the idea of ​​J. Borrell’s message that the EU and Russia” can cooperate despite disagreements. “

Former Western diplomats were also relentless, joining in the criticism that erupted on Saturday.

“Mr Borrell was ashamed of his failed visit to Moscow today,” David Clark, a former UK diplomat, said on Twitter. – The EU is talking about the goal of achieving “strategic autonomy”, but strategic maturity must first be achieved. Taking into account the EU’s relations with [Rusijos prezidentu Vladimiru] Putin, the bloc remains desperately weak and naive. “

“The gap between the EU and Russia is bigger than ever,” Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Center in Moscow, wrote on Twitter. – EU sanctions are ineffective and criticism is rejected. Places remained only for interest-based affairs and relationships. The situation must be fundamentally overestimated. “

Although Navaln supporters were disappointed in Borrell, he still met with representatives of civil society. As the EU foreign policy chief said on Twitter, civil society “is still growing, despite diminishing opportunities for independent voices in Russia.”

Borrell also said that his requests to meet with Navaln had been rejected. It is true that during the visit the European diplomats had contact with opposition lawyers.

Democracy activists say the Kremlin was quick to use Borrell’s visit for propaganda purposes and to discredit Navaln. Borrell also praised Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine during a press conference on Friday.

“I just want to congratulate Russia on the successful completion of this project,” Borrell said of the vaccine, which has not yet been approved by EU scientists. “This is great news for all mankind.”

Shortly after the press conference, the Russian Foreign Ministry released the video. It begins with a clip filmed last year by Navaln, in which an opponent criticizes Russian authorities for prematurely approving the Sputnik V vaccine before all investigations have been conducted. Borrell is then shown, who praises Russia for developing the vaccine.

After criticizing the visit to Russia, Borrell changed the tune Sunday night and announced a tougher stance on Moscow, alluding to possible sanctions.

In a blog post, the Spanish diplomat acknowledged that Russia’s behavior during his visit showed a reluctance to engage in a more constructive dialogue with the European Union.

“The aggressively organized press conference and the expulsion of three diplomats from the EU during my visit show that the Russian authorities did not want to take this opportunity to have a more constructive dialogue with the EU,” Borrell wrote.

He admitted that he learned of the expulsion of three EU diplomats from Moscow from a meeting on social media with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the end.

“As the EU, we will have to draw conclusions, carefully assess the direction in which to develop relations with Russia and act with unity and determination,” the diplomat said.

“We will discuss these issues with our fellow EU Foreign Ministers. As always, the next steps will have to be decided by the Member States and yes, this may include sanctions.” We have an additional tool in this regard thanks to the sanctions regime of human rights recently adopted by the EU, “said Mr Borrell.

Borrell was also criticized for his behavior during a press conference with Lavrov when he criticized the United States when asked about Cuba by a Russian journalist, did not respond to Lavrov’s statements that the EU was an unreliable partner, and said that no country of the EU does. I am not proposing to impose sanctions on Russia.

Some time after the visit, Borrell still defended his strategy, saying that diplomatic channels should be open, but his stance over the weekend was severely criticized not only by political opponents but also by the European press.

“Nothing has been achieved, opportunities have not been seized, reputation has been shaken. Three diplomats have been lost, ”Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on Twitter.

“Russia has humiliated Borrell in Moscow,” reported the headline of the Brussels-based daily EUobserver.

Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets condemned Borrell’s visit to Moscow, noting that the timing of the visit had not been chosen correctly.

The Estonian minister would also like to meet with Mr Borrell in the near future to discuss the outcome of his visit to Moscow.

“It just came to our knowledge then. I said before the visit that one of the preconditions for this visit must be the opportunity to know [Rusijos opozicionieriumi] Aleksejumi Navalnu. On February 2, I condemned the prison sentence handed down by a Russian court against Navalnu and, like other European and American leaders, demanded his immediate release. Unfortunately, Navaln is still in prison, already charged with a new “crime”. It was necessary to at least try to meet Alexei Navaln’s wife or, if that was not possible, with [A. Navalno įkurto] Representative of the Anticorruption Fund (FBK) ”, E.-M. Glue.

In his view, Borrell, during a joint press conference with Russian Chancellor Lavrov, should have emphasized that EU member states had demanded sanctions against Russia for widespread systemic human rights violations.

Among the states that have demanded such sanctions is Estonia.

Lucas: Do you hear how the Kremlin jokes about champagne corks?

Edward Lucas, vice president of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), wrote in a comment to BNS that Europe’s chaotic politics continues to delight Russia.

“Do you hear how the Kremlin jokes about champagne corks?

Last month, prospects for Vladimir Putin’s regime looked bleak. At home, the director of A. Navaln gradually developed into a migraine. Overseas, the Americans have returned. New sanctions, more protests and more pressure could be expected.

But now the situation is different. Navaln Camp halted demonstrations in support of its jailed leader. This reflects a fading of enthusiasm at home: the situation is becoming more similar to Belarus than to Maidan. Polls show that the opposition faces a difficult task. In short, Putin is still more palatable to most Russians. But the new tactic of relying on outside pressure is play. The United States is a long way off, and the European Union is committed to its stagnant response to the pandemic and is forced to blush after the tragic visit of its foreign policy chief, Joseph Borrell, to Moscow.

It is worth remembering that the EU is three times as large as Russia in terms of population and ten times as large in terms of GDP. However, the inexperienced Mr. Borrell acted more like a beggar. He humbly allowed Russian teacher Sergei Lavrov to dominate the joint press conference, dictate its course, and echo the Kremlin’s arguments, such as that the Navaln poisoning was a public relations ploy.

Borrell was even more humiliated when Russia sent three EU diplomats during his visit.

Upon his return home, Borrell posted a gloomy statement on his blog, justifying his “principled diplomacy” and warning that the EU would “carefully consider” Russia’s “deplorable” behavior. “