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EU-Russia cooperation to continue despite current tensions, says Western expert

Commenting on energy cooperation, the expert pointed out that it had a long history and "it continued even at times of high political tensions during the Cold War"

© AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

MOSCOW, February 9./TASS/. Russia and the European Union will continue cooperating in certain areas despite major political differences, Marco Siddi, Senior Research Fellow from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs said on Tuesday.

"The news of the expulsion of some Polish, German and Swedish diplomats from Russia on the day of [European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep] Borrell’s visit made conciliatory language even more difficult. However, EU-Russia cooperation continues and will continue in several areas, from the energy sector to negotiations concerning the Iranian nuclear deal," Marco Siddi said.

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Commenting on energy cooperation, the expert pointed out that it had a long history and "it continued even at times of high political tensions during the Cold War". "Cooperation on the JCPOA with Iran will continue because this is a matter of international politics, rather than a bilateral issue between the EU and Russia," he stressed.

"Future approval of the Sputnik V vaccine in the EU could provide another important path of cooperation," he expert went on to say.

The mutual expulsion of several diplomats and the situation with Russian blogger Alexey Navalny have strained relations of Moscow and Brussels, Marco Siddi added. A number of differences must be addressed to build long-term constructive relations between Russia and the European Union, he stressed, saying that "progress in the resolution of the Donbass conflict will be necessary; restraint in the use of fiery rhetoric by both sides".

"Some EU members (Germany, Italy) would like to work towards a relaxation of tensions", and they ""would be able to prevail only if there is some progress in the resolution of the key conflicts," the senior research fellow insisted.

"Yes, the status quo will be maintained in the foreseeable future" in relations of the EU and Russia, he admitted.

Borrell was on a visit to Russia between February 4 and 6. On February 5, he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The EU foreign policy chief said that he had had "open and frank debates" on all aspects of Russia-EU relations, from the anti-coronavirus efforts, global climate change, and the situation around the Iran nuclear deal to the gaps in the positions on Ukraine, Brussel’s support of Navalny, and its opinion about Russia’s expulsion of European diplomats, who had attended unauthorized protests in Russia.

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