These days are one of the most dramatic moments in relations between Russia and Europe. Which will possibly define this relationship for many years to come
On February 22, there will be a big EU meeting, at which they will determine what the new sanctions against Russia will be. There will be sanctions for sure. But big ones that will drastically worsen relations for years? Or small, symbolic? There is now a fierce debate in the EU capitals over this issue.
EU head of diplomacy Borrell was in Moscow on February 5 in this regard. And now the EU wants to dismiss him for this or ban him from dealing with Russia. Borrell’s visit to Moscow was very unusual. The EU stated that it carried the olive branch of the world. And the Russian Foreign Ministry stated exactly the opposite – that “the EU was preparing a public flogging of Russia”, but Russia thwarted this plan.
Borrell asked to meet with Navalny. And he passed the EU demand to release Navalny. In response, Russia answered toughly no. And reinforced this harshness by the expulsion of three EU diplomats from Russia on the same day. And in response to Borrell’s demand for the Russian police to be softer with protest demonstrations, Borrell was given video footage of the dispersal of protests in the EU countries, where the police behave much tougher than the Russian police, at the Foreign Ministry. Borrel was simply made a fool. He was shocked.
And the EU as a whole was shocked by Moscow’s harshness and now does not know what to do. Over the years, the EU has actually become accustomed to Moscow being gentle and seeking good relations with the EU. And the EU planned that there would be small concessions from Moscow. And the EU will respond to these concessions, as always, with small sanctions. But unexpectedly Moscow responded very harshly and showed that Russia is ready for a sharp deterioration in relations with the EU. For the EU, this harshness from Moscow was like a cold shower. And now they don’t know how to react. Tighten up in response? Or, if Russia is so ready to go into conflict, not to rush into conflict? And there is also a new United States with an ally Biden, which propose to coordinate all anti-Russian steps together. And it is clear that Navalny’s anti-Putin protest, for which the West had so many hopes, also unexpectedly quickly ended in a mess. What will we do?
This week, European elites will decide what they will do with Russia in the coming years.
Sergey Markov