Earlier this week, NATO sided with London and Amsterdam in their accusations against Russia of conducting cyberattacks.
The European Union will reach long-term security only in cooperation with Moscow, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a speech to Austrian parliament on Friday.
Despite anything that happens in Russia, he added, the Europeans shouldn’t forget that they are neighbors with Russia.
His comments come on the heels of Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld’s claim that four Russian citizens with diplomatic passports have been expelled from the Netherlands on April 13 on suspicion of an attempted cyberattack on the OPCW. The UK Foreign Office, in turn, accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service GRU of cyber attacks on political institutions, enterprises, media and sports.
The accusations prompted immediate reaction of the Western community, including NATO, which expressed solidarity with Amsterdam in its accusations and urged Moscow to change its behavior.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, has said that the anti-Russian “spymania campaign” unleashed in the Netherlands seriously harms bilateral relations with Russia. The ministry added that Moscow has not and will not launch such attacks, as it has no reason to do so.
Sticking With the Iran Deal
Juncker added that, with regard to Iran, Europeans have to “stand by their words.”
Earlier this year, Washington slammed the door on the landmark Iran nuclear deal, which was reached in 2015 by China, France, Germany, European Union, Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Donald Trump announced reimposition of a series of hefty sanctions targeting Iran and foreign companies or countries that would continue to do business with Tehran.
The remaining deal signatories have widely criticized Trump’s move and reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement, which lifted crippling economic sanctions from Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.