Sergey Lavrov: Russia is ready to break relations with the EU

The “Strange and Incomprehensible” section has been added to the report.

“We are sure that we are ready,” he told the Solovyov Laif YouTube channel, an excerpt from which was posted on the Telegram channel by Vladimir Solovyov, a journalist close to the Kremlin who interviewed him.

This is how Lavrov responded to the question of whether Russia is moving towards breaking relations with the EU.

“If we see again, as we have repeatedly felt, that sanctions are being imposed in some areas that are endangering our economy, including the most sensitive areas, [tuomet] Yes. We do not want to isolate ourselves from world life in any way, but we have to be prepared for that, “said the Minister.

“If you want peace, prepare for war,” Lavrov added.

In the wake of this controversial interview, the Kremlin attempted to rectify the situation by explaining that Lavrov’s statements had been taken out of context.

“The media presents this sensational headline without context, and it is a huge media mistake, a mistake that changes the meaning. The point is that we do [nutraukti santykių] we simply do not want, we want to develop relations with the European Union. But if the EU goes this way, then … yes, we will be ready, “President Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told reporters later on Friday.

According to him, the media “distorted the meaning and presented this sensational headline in such a way that Russia would hardly initiate the termination of relations with the EU.”

When asked if a situation could be reached when diplomatic relations between Moscow and the EU were broken, Peskov replied: steps. “

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday that Russia would react if the EU announced new sanctions.

“I would like to warn our partners in the EU not to take hasty action,” Zacharova said, adding that any new sanction “would inevitably lead to a proportionate response.”

Only statements

Linas Kojala, a political scientist and director of the Center for Eastern European Studies, noted that relations between the EU and Russia are already so limited, the EU has been renewing sanctions on Russia for aggression in Ukraine for eight years and there is hardly a Common EU. -Russian communication formats.

“What’s next? Will Russia break diplomatic relations with the EU? Will the country send an EU ambassador? Or maybe it will sever ties with all countries? It doesn’t seem like it can be anything more than declarations. At the same time, it is an attempt to further divide the EU, realizing that some countries will persevere in maintaining the channels of dialogue, “said the political scientist on the social network Facebook.

According to L. Kojala, to preserve the dialogue, Moscow itself puts its foot down.

On the other hand, Russia’s own actions prevented it: EU Foreign Minister Borrell traveled to Moscow, probably with doubts, but still with illusions that someone could move forward. After returning from Moscow, following direct diplomatic repression, he had already stated that Russia views democratic values ​​as an “existential threat” and is starting talks on sanctions, “Kojala said.

EU-Russia relations have been strained since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and began inciting war in eastern Ukraine.

Relations deteriorated further after a Russian court sent Alexei Navalna, a critic of the Kremlin, to Russia from Germany for nearly three years after returning to bars, where he was treated with Novičiok, a nerve-paralyzing substance created by Soviet scientists after their poisoning. in August.

The opposition has blamed Russian special services and President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning, but the Russian authorities have denied the allegations.

His imprisonment sparked mass protests in Russia, during which more than 10,000 were arrested. people.

EU foreign ministers are due to discuss their next steps on Russia at a meeting on February 22. The Community is likely to announce a package of new sanctions for certain people who enter the Community and freeze their assets. The EU is currently negotiating new sanctions and there is no public comment on who might be subject to the new sanctions.

Navaln’s defenders call on the EU to impose sanctions on oligarchs accused of protecting Putin’s assets and financing his regime.

Strange and incomprehensible

Andrea Sasse, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry, called the Russian Foreign Minister’s speech on Friday “strange and incomprehensible.”

“We can trust the speech of Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in the Bundestag, in which he made clear our position on Russia, but made it clear that we are interested in cooperating with Russia. So, today’s statement from the Minister Lavrov is really strange, “he told reporters in Berlin.

Maas said on Wednesday that Berlin should not “break bridges” with Moscow.

“I do not support the destruction of all bridges with Russia,” the German diplomat told the Bundestage on Wednesday about the fate of the Russian Nord Stream 2 import gas pipeline project.

In the words of Maas, “those who doubt Nord Stream 2 should think geostrategically, understand the consequences.”

Such politicians, according to Maas, only “bring Russia closer to China.”

Nord Stream 2 is worth $ 10 billion. A Eur gas pipeline to double Russia’s natural gas supply to Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is supporting the project.

However, it is highly criticized by the United States. The administration of former President Donald Trump has been particularly active in promoting the use of American gas and has openly criticized the countries of the European Union for their dependence on Russian energy resources.

Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states are also actively opposing the construction of the pipeline, fearing that Moscow could use the pipeline through the Baltic Sea to exert political pressure against Europe.

France asked Germany last week to abandon the pipeline, but the appeal was not heard in Berlin.

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