Europe may not be united, but it must be independent - Putin
Russia will build relations both with the European Union as a whole and with individual states. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this today at his final press conference.
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“I would like Europe to speak with one voice. If this is not the case, we will look for contacts at the international level. In practice, this is how it works: some of the issues are with the European Commission, some are with individual countries. I do not agree that Europe consists of small states. There are great states there. This is how we treat them,” Putin said.
In his opinion, there is now greater centralization in Europe
“How Europe will build relations within itself is not our business. Whether centralization is beneficial is up to you to decide. Those countries that oppose migration policies care about their participation in decision-making. They don’t like that someone is imposing decisions on them that they consider unacceptable,” Putin said.
However, the main thing that Russia is interested in is that Europe be independent.
“We want to have a reliable, strong and independent partner. If we have to involve third countries to build relations, then it is not interesting to talk with Europe itself,” Putin said.
Europe may not be united, but it must be independent – Putin