Friday

29th Mar 2024

EU-Russia relations at low ebb, despite 'humour'

EU foreign ministers and Russia's Sergei Lavrov failed to find common ground on Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels on Monday (16 December).

Two of the EU delegates remarked that Lavrov was in good spirits.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"There was lots of humour, as always with Sergei Lavrov," the Netherlands' Frans Timmermans said.

"It was horribly polite. Sergei Lavrov said several times 'I'm in a good mood,' and I have seen him in a bad mood before at Nato meetings," Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn noted.

The EU side spent the lunchtime encounter telling him it would be good for both Russia and Ukraine if Ukraine signs a free trade treaty with the Union.

But Lavrov said Russia would be "flooded" with European products via Ukraine if the deal goes ahead.

He told press afterward: "It was our common agreement that everyone should respect the sovereignty of each nation, including Ukraine, and … allow people to make a free choice on how they want to develop."

He also said some EU ministers backed his idea of holding trilateral trade talks with the EU, Russia and Ukraine.

His statement on "sovereignty" comes after Russia threatened to bankrupt Ukraine with trade bans and gas debts if it signs the EU accord, however.

Meanwhile, Timmermans, for one, told media there is no chance of trilateral talks.

"I don't see why the EU, when it is negotiating with a third country, should invite a fourth country into those negotiations. I don't see that as an option," he noted.

Lavrov also criticised Sweden's Carl Bildt for being "unprofessional" after Bildt told press that Lavrov is spreading "fairly serious misinformation" on the negative impact of the EU-Ukraine pact.

On the broader question of how Ukraine has affected EU-Russia ties, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said: "I don't think Russian and EU relations are getting worse. Russia and the EU are strategic partners."

But the UK's William Hague noted that Ukraine has put a "strain" on the relationship.

For his part, Asselborn, a veteran of EU politics, said the EU and Russia see eye to eye on international issues, such as Afghanistan or Iran, "but as soon as we approach the [geographic] zone between Russia and the EU there is nervousness, there are problems."

He recalled that in 2005, the EU and Russia agreed to co-operate on the economy, justice, security and science - the "EU-Russia Common Spaces."

He said they did it in a "good atmosphere" in line with former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev's concept of creating a "Common European Home."

But looking back at the unproductive EU-Russia summits of recent years, Asselborn added: "Today we feel, at many levels, that we don't see this good co-operation any more."

Turning to Ukraine, EU ministers repeated that "the door remains open" for President Viktor Yanukovych to sign the treaty.

But they heaped doubt on his intention to do so.

Bildt and his Polish counterpart, Radek Sikorski, who masterminded the trade accord five years ago, said EU commissioner Stefan Fuele was right to declare on Sunday that he is freezing EU-Ukraine talks on reviving the pact.

Bildt accused Yanukovych of "doublespeak."

"In Vilnius, he said he was ready to sign in the near future. The other day, he said he was going to fire the people who negotiated the agreement. If you can make sense of that, of his policy, then you're welcome," he noted, referring to a summit in Vilnius last month.

Sikorski said: "In a situation in which the President of Ukraine says the association agreement is harmful to his country, there is need to pause for serious reflection."

He added that EU leaders will speak out on Ukraine at a summit in Brussels this week.

Opinion

EU should confront Russia on Ukraine

The Europeanisation of post-Soviet Europe will only happen when Russia is either forced to or decides to let it happen. 

US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel

The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council backed a call for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as Europe prepares to also blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us