Your trusted source

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov believes the Eastern Partnership program is aimed at driving a wedge between Moscow and its closest neighbors. The FM’s remarks came in an article “Neighbours in Europe. Russia-EU: Thirty Years of Relations” published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Wednesday.

“The practical aspects of our relations with Brussels included instances of increasing priority given to the EU’s supranational norms and attempts to apply them retroactively to all other countries. We were urged to accept off-the-shelf decisions made in the EU, which ruled out any discussion or respect for Russia’s interests,” Lavrov wrote, adding: “Our Brussels partners preferred to keep silent about the fact that their concept of four common spaces was based on the understanding that any attempts to force our neighbours to choose between Russia and the EU would be dangerous and counterproductive.”

In the minister’s words, well before 2014, an alarming sign in the Russia-EU relations was the launch of the Eastern Partnership initiative, which was aimed at creating a distance between Russia and its closest neighbours connected by centuries-old ties.

“We are still feeling the negative impact of this egocentric policy,” added the FM.