European Council President Tells Putin Conditions for Improved Relations with Russia

Tensions between the EU and the Russian Federation can take a different direction if Moscow implements the Minsk Agreements, stops cyber attacks on EU countries and shows respect for human rights, Charles Michel told Vladimir Putin. The tensions between the European Union and Russia could improve if Moscow implements the Minsk Agreements to resolve the conflict in the east of Ukraine, stops hybrid attacks and cyberattacks on EU states, and observes human rights. President of the European Council Charles Michel told this to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation on Monday, March 22. The parties also touched upon the case of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who is in the colony after the suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case was replaced with a real one. The head of the European Council reiterated the call to release the oppositionist and proceed with a transparent investigation into the attempt to poison Navalny with a chemical warfare agent from the Novichok family. In turn, the Kremlin press service issued a message, according to which Vladimir Putin assessed the "unsatisfactory state" of Russia-EU ties which has emerged "due to unconstructive, often confrontational policies of the partners." "The Russian side stressed its readiness to resume normal, depoliticized ties with the European Union, if a real reciprocal interest is shown in this," the message reads. Diplomatic expulsion and EU sanctions for human rights violations Russia-EU ties have escalated in recent weeks. In early February, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared three employees of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Poland and Sweden persona non grata, accusing them of participating in protests in support of Navalny on January 23 in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the same month did not rule out the breach in relations between Russia and the EU if the Russian authorities again see sanctions that pose a threat to the country's economy. In March, the European Union, in connection with the criticism of US President Joseph Biden against Putin, underscored the political responsibility of the Russian president for killing people in Russia who used to criticize what was happening in the country. The EU Council in the same month imposed sanctions on 11 people and four organizations from Russia, China and several other countries for their involvement in gross violations of human rights.