Home » News » Lavrov considers it absurd to link the relations of the European Union and Russia with the situation in Ukraine

Lavrov considers it absurd to link the relations of the European Union and Russia with the situation in Ukraine

The last few years have become for Russia and the European Union a “period of missed opportunities,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to him, it is absurd to connect the interaction between Russia and the EU with the settlement of the situation in Ukraine. The minister expressed his opinion in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, translation of the interview published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Lavrov said that on the initiative of Brussels, work with Moscow was frozen in a number of areas, and EU sanctions “cause multibillion-dollar losses to the economies of European countries themselves.” According to the Minister, a significant part of the damage falls on the “most closely connected” with Russia trade and investment partners in the EU, including Italy.

“Acting on the principle of the least common denominator, the European Union maintains the absurd linking of the prospects for interaction with the internal Ukrainian settlement … This state of affairs objectively contradicts the fundamental interests of our citizens,” said Sergey Lavrov.

The minister believes that among the EU member states, “the feeling is gradually gaining strength” that the time has come to return relations with Russia “to the path of progressive development.” The Foreign Minister added that the Russian Federation is ready to work together to promote cooperation with the EU “on an equal, mutually beneficial basis.”

“We hope that the new leadership of the European Council and the European Commission also recognizes the incompatibility of maintaining the vicious status quo with the ambitious tasks set by it to turn the EU into a“ geostrategic player of the highest rank, ”said Mr. Lavrov.

At the end of January, the EU included seven people on the sanctions list for “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”. The list includes officials related to the Crimea. The next day, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against the same people, as well as the Grand Service Express transport company and its general director. Russia has promised a mirror response to European sanctions.

Read about the prospects of lifting sanctions against Russia in an interview with German ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Guire “Kommersant”.

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