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EU wants dialogue with Russia, needs feedback from Moscow, Austria’s top diplomat says

Russia is not interested in this now judging by the signals coming from Moscow, Alexander Schallenberg maintained

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg EPA-EFE/FLORIAN WIESER

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg

© EPA-EFE/FLORIAN WIESER

VIENNA, May 22./TASS/. The European Union wants to build a dialogue with Russia, but Moscow is not interested in it now, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg maintained on Saturday ahead of the May 24 EU summit where relations with Russia will be in the focus.

"Relations [of Russia and the EU] are definitely tense and overshadowed now. It takes two to tango, as the phrase goes. The European Union wants a dialogue. We want channels for a dialogue, but this requires reaction that [the other party] also wants this," the foreign minister told O1 radio station on Saturday.

However, Russia is not interested in this now judging by the signals coming from Moscow, he maintained.

The European Union and Russia should cooperate on many tracks, from climate to the energy sector, Schallenberg said, expressing hope that the mood in relations of the EU and Russia would change eventually.

In the European Union "Austria is always taking efforts for a lasting and stable channel for a dialogue with Moscow," the foreign minister stressed. "There are many issues on which we [the EU and Russia] want to work together, and we must do this. The key words are climate and energy," Schallenberg told. "But of course we [the EU] cannot betray our values," he stressed.

"I strongly hope that the mood will change soon so that we could eventually find a way to coexist. There is no doubt that this is difficult now," he said.

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