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‘Any point in dealing with Brussels?’ Lavrov doubts cooperation with hostile EU agencies

Relations with the European Union are bumpy these days, the top diplomat said
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  The press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© The press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MINSK, November 26./TASS/. During a session of the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries’ boards on Thursday, the nation’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov questioned the feasibility of cooperation with EU agencies given the way they behave towards Russia these days.

"Rather than thinking about how to do business - in the usual or not the usual way - we, for our part, want to fundamentally understand whether there is any point whatsoever in dealing with the structures in Brussels if they continue operating the way that they do now," the foreign minister said.

Relations with the EU are bumpy these days, he admitted. "The reason is both non-partner-like, and frequently the unfriendly behavior of some European Union countries that get the entire EU’s approval," Lavrov pointed out.

Many EU countries are incapable of giving up their "arrogant manner of speaking to others from a position of force," he stressed. "This habit limits the chances of restoring any dialogue based on mutual respect and equality. Even participants in the Eastern Partnership are divided into categories. Along with Azerbaijan and Armenia, Belarus is also ranked among the second-rate countries, with whom cooperation may be virtually frozen," he said.