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Trump’s victory may help take Russia-EU relations out of stalemate — Russian diplomat

The Russian ambassador to EU expressed hope that EU "will have enough political will to take the relations with Russia out of this stalemate"
Russian Ambassador to EU Vladimir Chizhov ITAR-TASS/Ruslan Shamukov
Russian Ambassador to EU Vladimir Chizhov
© ITAR-TASS/Ruslan Shamukov

MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump at US presidential election may drive the relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) out of the stalemate, Russian Ambassador to EU Vladimir Chizhov said on Wednesday.

"I think that Russia and EU now have an opportunity if not to re-launch than to move in the direction of normalizing their relations," Chizhov told Rossiya 24 TV channel. "We will see how Washington’s practical foreign policy is formed, considering Trump and taking into account his signals on relations with Russia," he added.

The diplomat expressed hope that EU "will have enough political will to take the relations with Russia out of this stalemate."

EU caught by surprise

Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to discuss Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election in the US reflects confusion, if not concern, Chizhov said. "This statement (by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's Foreign Minister) reflects an element of confusion," he noted in a comment on Steinmeier's decision to hold a conference at the level of foreign ministers for discussing the situation.

The outcome of the election caught the leaderships of many European countries by surprise, Chizhov said. It also stunned the broad public quarters "who relied on the reports in the media, US media in the first place, that predicted with too much confidence a victory for Hillary Clinton."

Agence France-Presse quoted a report by the German government on Wednesday saying the foreign ministers of EU member-states would hold a meeting on November 13 to discuss the situation that had sprung up in the wake of Trump's victory. The meeting is to be held at the initiative of the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Many European country leaders came forward with comments during the presidential race in the US where they made it clear they viewed Clinton's victory as an event more preferable for the Europeans.

On Election Day, November 8, United States citizens cast their ballots and elected their 45th US President, Donald J. Trump. By securing more than the needed 270 electoral votes, Trump, the Republican candidate clinched his presidential victory.