Josep Borrell in Moscow

Nevertheless, the Russian side managed to turn Borrell’s visit into a full-scale negotiations on the state of relations between Russia and the EU. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, thanks to his diplomatic skills, managed to convey to Josep Borrell the main concerns of Moscow regarding the state of bilateral cooperation.

As it became known at the final press conference following the 2-day negotiations, the agenda covered a very wide range of issues. At the same time, Lavrov explicitly stated to the EU High Representative Russia’s claims about the “abnormality” of relations between Moscow and Europe. It is noteworthy that despite Borrell’s attempts to designate the “Navalny problem”, it was eventually moved to the background of the agenda.

During the meeting in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Minister and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy acknowledged that relations between the parties are “at a low level”. However, they also expressed the need to “continue the dialogue on a variety of issues”. According to Borrell, so far no EU member has made a proposal to impose sanctions against Russia related to Alexei Navalny. This issue, however, will still be discussed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell met in Moscow on 5 February. Following the talks, the parties acknowledged significant differences,
but expressed “readiness for dialogue”.

“Of course, the main problem that we all face is the lack of normality in relations between Russia and the European Union, between the two largest players in the Eurasian space. This is, of course, an unhealthy situation that does not benefit anyone” , Sergey Lavrov said, opening the talks.

“We now see each other more as competitors, rivals, than partners,” Borrell said.

At the same time, the parties stressed the need to continue the dialogue on various issues between Russia and the European Union.

“Our relations are currently at a point of tension, including the one created by the Navalny case, but we remain interconnected not only geographically, but also through a wide range of cultural, historical and economic ties,” Borrell said.

“Despite these difficulties, creating a wall of silence between us is not an option.”
“It is important, as I believe, that both sides confirmed their interest in maintaining and expanding the channels of dialogue, including on issues where our positions differ. And there are many such questions. We noted our readiness to cooperate pragmatically where it is interesting and beneficial for both sides. We have a common opinion that further degradation of relations is fraught with negative and very, very unpredictable consequences, ” Lavrov said.

Borrell flew to Moscow to discuss bilateral relations between Russia and the European Union in the light of the situation with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. On February 2, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow at its session decided to cancel Navalny’s suspended sentence in the “Yves Rocher case” and replace it with 3.5 years in a general regime colony. The European Union calls for the release of the opposition leader. Russia rejects Western accusations of politically motivated criminal prosecution.

“I conveyed to Mr. Lavrov my concern about these facts and called for the release of Navalny and a full investigation into his poisoning” , Borrell said at a press conference following the talks.

As the EU representative for Foreign Affairs stressed, no member of the European Union has yet made a proposal to introduce new sanctions against Russia because of the Navalny case.
However, “the discussion of this issue is not over yet.”

“My visit to Moscow is part of the preparation for this discussion, because it is very important to determine what we plan to do with this relationship,” Borrell said. “Today, Mr. Lavrov and I have identified areas in which we can interact.”

According to him, the topic of sanctions will be discussed during the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU, as well as during the March summit of the heads of state and government of the European Union.

Sergey Lavrov, commenting on possible restrictive measures by Brussels, stressed that this is “an internal matter of the EU”.

“We are used to the fact that the EU, as I have already mentioned, is increasingly resorting to unilateral restrictions that have no legitimate basis. We build our life on the assumption that the European Union is an unreliable partner, at least at this stage. I hope that the strategic review that is coming will still draw attention to the fundamental interests of the European Union in its immediate neighborhood,” Lavrov said.

The topic of sanctions against Russia was raised after Alexei Navalny fell into a coma on August 20. The Russian opposition leader was transported to Germany for treatment. Later, German, Swedish and French laboratories, as well as experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said that the politician was poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok group. Russian doctors did not find any poisons and called the main diagnosis a metabolic disorder that caused a sharp change in blood sugar.

The sides also discussed other issues — the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, the fight against disinformation, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the areas of interaction between the parties.

Commenting on the Iranian issue, Sergey Lavrov stressed that “Moscow and Brussels will continue to make efforts to restore the nuclear deal after the United States withdrew from the agreement, and Iran in response announced non-compliance with a number of its conditions”.

It is obvious that regardless of the mutual rhetoric and accusations, Russia and the EU should cooperate on a wide range of issues. Recently, French President Macron also called on Europe to engage in dialogue with Russia. Many experts in the EU are convinced that without normal and multi-format relations with Russia, united Europe is unlikely to be able to move forward and develop.

Russia also hopes for the restoration of a normal and civilized dialogue with the EU. Moreover, both sides have significant economic and political interests in such communication.

As it became known at the final press conference following the 2-day negotiations, the agenda covered a very wide range of issues. At the same time, Lavrov explicitly stated to the EU High Representative Russia’s claims about the “abnormality” of relations between Moscow and Europe. It is noteworthy that despite Borrell’s attempts to designate the “Navalny problem”, it was eventually moved to the background of the agenda.

During the meeting in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Minister and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy acknowledged that relations between the parties are “at a low level”. However, they also expressed the need to “continue the dialogue on a variety of issues”. According to Borrell, so far no EU member has made a proposal to impose sanctions against Russia related to Alexei Navalny. This issue, however, will still be discussed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell met in Moscow on 5 February. Following the talks, the parties acknowledged significant differences,
but expressed “readiness for dialogue”.

“Of course, the main problem that we all face is the lack of normality in relations between Russia and the European Union, between the two largest players in the Eurasian space. This is, of course, an unhealthy situation that does not benefit anyone” , Sergey Lavrov said, opening the talks.

“We now see each other more as competitors, rivals, than partners,” Borrell said.

At the same time, the parties stressed the need to continue the dialogue on various issues between Russia and the European Union.

“Our relations are currently at a point of tension, including the one created by the Navalny case, but we remain interconnected not only geographically, but also through a wide range of cultural, historical and economic ties,” Borrell said.

“Despite these difficulties, creating a wall of silence between us is not an option.”
“It is important, as I believe, that both sides confirmed their interest in maintaining and expanding the channels of dialogue, including on issues where our positions differ. And there are many such questions. We noted our readiness to cooperate pragmatically where it is interesting and beneficial for both sides. We have a common opinion that further degradation of relations is fraught with negative and very, very unpredictable consequences, ” Lavrov said.

Borrell flew to Moscow to discuss bilateral relations between Russia and the European Union in the light of the situation with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. On 2 February, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow at its session decided to cancel Navalny’s suspended sentence in the “Yves Rocher case” and replace it with 3.5 years in a general regime colony. The European Union calls for the release of the opposition leader. Russia rejects Western accusations of politically motivated criminal prosecution.

“I conveyed to Mr. Lavrov my concern about these facts and called for the release of Navalny and a full investigation into his poisoning” , Borrell said at a press conference following the talks.

As the EU representative for Foreign Affairs stressed, no member of the European Union has yet made a proposal to introduce new sanctions against Russia because of the Navalny case. However, “the discussion of this issue is not over yet.”

“My visit to Moscow is part of the preparation for this discussion, because it is very important to determine what we plan to do with this relationship,” Borrell said. “Today, Mr. Lavrov and I have identified areas in which we can interact.”

According to him, the topic of sanctions will be discussed during the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU, as well as during the March summit of the heads of state and government of the European Union.

Sergey Lavrov, commenting on possible restrictive measures by Brussels, stressed that this is “an internal matter of the EU”.

“We are used to the fact that the EU, as I have already mentioned, is increasingly resorting to unilateral restrictions that have no legitimate basis. We build our life on the assumption that the European Union is an unreliable partner, at least at this stage. I hope that the strategic review that is coming will still draw attention to the fundamental interests of the European Union in its immediate neighborhood,” Lavrov said.

The topic of sanctions against Russia was raised after Alexei Navalny fell into a coma on August 20. The Russian opposition leader was transported to Germany for treatment. Later, German, Swedish and French laboratories, as well as experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said that the politician was poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok group. Russian doctors did not find any poisons and called the main diagnosis a metabolic disorder that caused a sharp change in blood sugar.

The sides also discussed other issues — the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, the fight against disinformation, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the areas of interaction between the parties.

Commenting on the Iranian issue, Sergey Lavrov stressed that “Moscow and Brussels will continue to make efforts to restore the nuclear deal after the United States withdrew from the agreement, and Iran in response announced non-compliance with a number of its conditions”.

It is obvious that regardless of the mutual rhetoric and accusations, Russia and the EU should cooperate on a wide range of issues. Recently, French President Macron also called on Europe to engage in dialogue with Russia. Many experts in the EU are convinced that without normal and multi-format relations with Russia, united Europe is unlikely to be able to move forward and develop.

Russia also hopes for the restoration of a normal and civilized dialogue with the EU. Moreover, both sides have significant economic and political interests in such communication.