They discussed relations between the EU and Russia, as well as topical international issues.
Borrell touched upon some problems in relations between the EU and Russia, “in pursuit of the goal of making relations more stable and predictable,” the department notes.
“Disagreements persist, in particular regarding Russia’s violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in the field of democracy and human rights, as well as cyber threats, disinformation and other hybrid threats,” the statement said.
As a result, the discussion focused on international issues on which the EU and Russia should continue to cooperate in order to solve the problems of global security. These include the situation in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, the Middle East peace process and negotiations on a nuclear deal with Iran.
Relations between the European Union and Russia have worsened this year due to diplomatic scandalsconnected with the identification in the EU countries (primarily in the Czech Republic) of the spy networks of the Russian special services, as well as due to the conclusion in the Russian Federation of oppositionist Alexei Navalny and Moscow’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.
There are several EU sanctions packages in force against Russia. Part of them is associated with an infringement of territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine. June 25 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels agreed to extend these sanctions.
The EU also imposed sanctions against citizens of the Russian Federation and Russian organizations for cyberattacks and arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
mass media June 23rd announced the wishes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the EU leaders’ summit. The next day, Merkel said that The European Union “must seek direct contact with Russia and its president. “
–
–
Merkel’s statement supported Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz… Kremlin reacted positively to Merkel’s initiative about the resumption of the dialogue. Almost half of the EU member states expressed strong disapproval of this idea.
–
– .
