The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, believes that Russia is a dangerous neighbor for the European Union, but channels of communication must be maintained with it.
Borrell expressed this opinion on Wednesday upon arrival at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, TASS reports.
Borrell changed his tone to negative about Russia after he visited Moscow on February 4-6. In Brussels, most politicians, experts, MEPs called his visit a failure, accusing the diplomat of insufficient toughness, including during a final press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
As a result of the trip, Borrell said that the EU and Russia held an open and honest dialogue on all issues of bilateral relations – from the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, global climate change, and the restoration of the Iranian deal to the disagreements over Ukraine, support by Brussels Alexei Navalny and the expulsion from Russia of Western diplomats who participated in uncoordinated protests.
The next day, he issued a separate statement in which he called the organization of the press conference in Moscow aggressive and also warned that the EU intends to impose new sanctions on Russia.
