EU Postpones Revision of Relations with Russia until Next Face-to-Face Summit

The President of the European Council "reiterated the EU's call on the Russian authorities to release Mr. Navalny and proceed with a transparent investigation into the assassination attempt on him." Discussion of the EU's new strategy in relation to Russia has been postponed until the next face-to-face meeting of the heads of EU states. This was announced by the President of the European Council Charles Michel, his letter was published on the EU website on Tuesday, March 23. “As regards Russia, I propose to have an information point and will share with you the outcome of my latest contacts with President Putin in advance of a more strategic debate on the matter at our next physical European Council meeting,” Michel wrote in a letter posted on Tuesday night in Brussels. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the EU leaders' summit, which will be held on March 25-26, will be held online. US President Joe Biden was invited to the videoconference, the President of the European Council said in a letter. The main topic of the summit will be the coronavirus pandemic in Europe. Michel had a telephone conversation with Putin the day before, during which the head of the European Council outlined the conditions that would allow, in his opinion, to resolve the existing differences between the parties. "From the EU perspective, the relationship with Russia can only take a different direction if there is sustained progress on issues like the implementation of the Minsk agreements, stopping hybrid and cyber-attacks on Member States and respect for human rights," the press service of the Council of Europe said in a press release following Putin-Michel conversation. Recall that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the European Union of destroying relations with the Russian Federation. Earlier, the EU listed the main disagreements with Russia. The European Union recalled Russia's actions in Donbass and Crimea, human rights violations, hybrid and cyber attacks on EU countries and the case of Alexei Navalny. Also, the US Secretary of State and NATO Secretary General at a meeting in Brussels discussed the situation around Russia, China and Afghanistan.