MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russia does not share the opinion that EU foreign diplomacy chief Josep Borrell’s recent talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow signified failure in dialogue with the EU, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova told the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Wednesday.
"It is not so. Incidentally, he [Borrell] does not share such a viewpoint, either. At a news conference following the talks he said nothing about some failure or Cold War times. It all began when he returned to Brussels," Zakharova said.
She stressed that at a joint news conference with Lavrov, Borrell described the talks in a positive light. He mentioned both disagreements and opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
"Nobody forced him into making such comments. He took the floor and said it all entirely on his own… <...> Then he returned to Brussels and something went wrong," Zakharova said.
She stressed that upon Borrell’s return to Brussels the European Union turned hysterical. Many in the European Parliament began to speculate that the Moscow visit by the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy was utter flop and began to threaten to oust him from office.
Borrell paid a visit to Russia on February 4-6. His meeting with Lavrov took place on February 5. The top European diplomat then said that the European Union and Russia held an open and honest dialogue on all issues of bilateral and international relations, including the struggle against the novel coronavirus pandemic and global climate change, the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program, Ukraine, Brussels’ support for Alexey Navalny and the expulsion of Western diplomats from Russia for participating in unauthorized protest demonstrations.