There are almost no relations between Moscow and Brussels, but the Russian side is ready to continue the dialogue.

This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Anyone who is more or less interested in the situation in Europe has long known that for many years this rupture has been taking place, relations have been consistently severed by the European Union,” he said at a press conference following talks with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto.

According to him, the “turning point” was 2014, when a coup d'etat took place in Ukraine.

“And the European Union has shown its, by and large, helplessness in relation to the agreement that was reached right on the eve of the coup d'etat between the government and the opposition, and under which Germany, France and Poland put their signatures,” he added.

  • Lavrov on Russia-EU relations

Lavrov noted that "the opposition did not give a damn about these signatures and the opinion of the European Union" and it was then that "the truly humiliation of the European Union took place."

Later, the EU “consistently destroyed all mechanisms without exception” that existed on the basis of the partnership and cooperation agreement.

“For many years, contacts between the Russian Foreign Minister and high representatives of the EU - Josep Borrell and his predecessor Federica Mogherini - are mainly devoted not to an overview of all relations with the European Union (because there are almost no relations left), but to such situational conversations about Syria, Iranian nuclear program ", - said Lavrov.

At the same time, he stressed that Russia has no problems in relations with most of the European countries separately.

As an example, he mentioned bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and Finland, noting that they are being built systematically, with the definition of general principles.

Lavrov also explained that he spoke in detail about the relations between Russia and the European Union and their considerations that a lot of "rumors" had developed around this situation.

We will remind, earlier on the air of the YouTube channel "Solovyov LIVE" the minister made it clear that Russia is ready to end relations with the European Union, if there are sanctions on his part that create risks for sensitive areas of the economy.

The minister noted that in a number of areas the Russian Federation has become self-sufficient.

He added that Russia has no desire to isolate itself from world life, but "we must be ready for this."

Later, the Foreign Ministry commented on Lavrov's words.

The department said that Moscow is ready to break off relations with the European Union if it is initiated by the European side.

The situation was also commented on by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

He noted that the media submitted Lavrov's statement without context, changing their meaning.

“The point is that we do not want this, we want to develop relations with the European Union, but if the European Union follows this path, then yes, we will be ready,” the press secretary of the head of state emphasized.

He noted that the meaning of Lavrov's statement "was distorted and this sensational headline was presented in such a way that Russia would almost initiate a break in relations with the European Union itself."

Note that Lavrov spoke about the relations between Russia and the EU after the visit to Moscow of the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell.

He visited Russia from 4 to 6 February.

During a press conference following the meeting with Lavrov, Borrell noted that, despite the differences, Russia and the EU should look for areas for cooperation.

He also spoke about the active trade relations between Moscow and Brussels.

After returning from Russia, the head of EU diplomacy wrote in his blog that the Russian authorities did not use his visit as an opportunity to establish a more constructive dialogue with the EU. 

MEPs subsequently criticized Borrell for his visit to Russia and called for his resignation.

The head of European diplomacy himself announced his intention to initiate the issue of imposing sanctions against Russia at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU countries and at a summit in March.

According to Borrell, at the moment the European Union is at a "historical crossroads" in relations with the Russian Federation.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded by calling on the Europeans to impose sanctions on themselves.

Zakharova spoke about this on Facebook, mentioning in the entry a list of almost 20 examples of harassment of media representatives from Russia in European countries, a significant part of which is associated with RT.