MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Prospects for restoring contacts between Russia and European countries do exist, as the leadership of the European Union will not be able to suppress the voices of its citizens for long, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu told Kommersant in an interview.
"They absolutely exist," he said in response to a question on the issue. "We all see the number of Europeans who doubt Brussels’s strategy of uncompromising confrontation with Russia growing, despite such sentiments being suppressed harshly." The top security official referenced the recent election scandal in Romania as an example.
"However, the longer the EU continues to ignore the interests of their own citizens, undermining their welfare with the excuse of a ‘Russian threat’, the harder it will be for them to silence those seeking mutually beneficial cooperation and peaceful coexistence with Russia," Shoigu emphasized.
The Security Council Secretary recalled that last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a Eurasian security paradigm with those very principles in mind. "We are ready for dialogue with Europe on equal terms," Shoigu stressed. "What tactics European capitals choose is entirely up to them, but I would be remiss not to quote the great Russian commander Prince Alexander Suvorov, who said 'Russians are known for their faith, loyalty, and reason. Should all of Europe rise in a futile march against Russia, it will only find its Thermopylae, its Leonidas, and its grave therein.'"