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Russia-EU relations unlikely to be good in foreseeable future, says Lavrov

The Minister underscored that Russia is interested in preservation of economic cooperation with the EU, based on mutual respect

© Russian foreign Ministry press service/TASS

MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/. Russia is ready for normalization of relations with the EU, but it is unlikely that they will become good shortly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his interview for Russian media Wednesday.

"It is unlikely that [the relations] will become good in the foreseeable future, but it will not be our fault. We are always ready to restore them, normalize and rejuvenate them on an equal and mutually respectful basis," he said.

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Lavrov says Russian-US ties won’t change after November election

The Foreign Minister recalled the remarks of the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen that Russia cannot be a EU’s strategic partner. He also recalled the remarks made by his German counterpart Heiko Maas, who said that disagreements with Russia do not mean that Germany does not want good or at least sensible relations with Moscow.

"Unfortunately, everything involving sense must be analyzed on the other side of our dialogue. I very much hope that sense will prevail there. We have not seen it so far," Lavrov added.

The minister underscored that Russia is interested in preservation of economic cooperation with the EU, based on mutual respect.

"Economic interests [with the EU] must remain. Economic operators must decide for themselves what they find profitable and what they do not. But I believe it is below us to run around and humiliate ourselves," he noted. "If they attempt to dismantle our economic partnership, including the Nord Stream-2, they will most likely dismantle their entire gas infrastructure, and the entire structure of cooperation via many other agencies and companies."

He also commented on the remarks he made earlier, which a number of media interpreted as a possibility of cessation of dialogue with the EU.

"I did not say that. We have a question not only whether business as usual is possible, but whether it is possible at all with the EU, which looks at Russia rather contemptuously, even arrogantly, demanding that we report on all sins that we, according to the EU, have committed. I believe that we must not report on anything, because we have our own constitution, our own laws.".

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