Russia calls for dialogue with EU despite ‘excessive troublesome potential’ — Kremlin

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. The excessive troublesome potential in Russian-EU relations should not hinder bilateral dialogue or efforts aimed at normalizing relations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters commenting on a statement by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell after his visit to Russia. The press secretary noted that Moscow had repeatedly expressed regret over the curtailment of dialogue between the EU and Russia and had called for searching for ways to normalize ties. "This is precisely what was said at the talks between the top diplomats of Russia and the EU - that despite the excessive troublesome potential in our relations, there should be still some room for dialogue," Peskov said. Borrell voiced the same idea, he noted. "These statements impressed us much more," Peskov emphasized. According to him, Moscow is keeping a close eye on the EU foreign policy chief’s remarks and agrees that the 2014 coup d’etat in Ukraine as well as other conflict situations had led to Russian-EU relations taking a turn for the worse. "It was then, that some European countries having put their signatures on a well-known document [the February 2014 settlement between the opposition and the Kiev authorities - TASS] failed to live up to their commitments, thereby triggering a coup d’etat at the heart of Europe," he explained. "That’s the main reason why our relations deteriorated and why the Europeans switched to the practice of double standards, which was absolutely unacceptable for us," Peskov specified. Then, Brussels chose the path of scaling down dialogue with Moscow "in almost all areas," he noted. Borrell paid a visit to Russia on February 4-6. On February 5, the EU foreign policy chief met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Read more