"Who blinks first." A diplomatic war begins between the Russian Federation and the EU
Moscow is preparing for a tough dispute with the European Union, which has demanded the release of blogger Alexei Navalny. convicted in Moscow for fraud.
The correspondent reports about this "PolitNavigator" Kommersant writes in an article dedicated to the beginning of the visit to the Russian Federation of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell
It is noted that this visit “will in many ways be a moment of truth in relations between Russia and the EU,” especially since Borrell previously called for the “immediate release” of Navalny.
“Meanwhile, given the deliberate impossibility of the demand for the “immediate release” of Alexei Navalny after his conviction, Moscow is demonstrating retaliatory toughness and a willingness to involve the West in a counter-dispute about how democratic rights and freedoms are respected in the citadels of “liberal democracy,” writes newspaper.
Thus, on the eve of Borrell’s visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov played ahead of the curve, saying that The Russian diplomatic department has prepared a video about how “illegal actions are suppressed in the West and how the Russian police react to atrocities at home.”
The head of Russian diplomacy called on his European colleague to familiarize himself with the video materials before his visit to Moscow in order to conduct a conversation “based on specific facts from both sides, and not unfounded allegations.”
In turn, the director of the Center for Political Research, Andrei Fedorov, believes that Borrell faces an almost impossible task.
“In Brussels they expect him to demonstrate toughness and put forward a de facto ultimatum to Russia. However, such a position would mean a deliberate failure of the visit, which obviously would not suit Mr. Borrell himself. He will have to try to preserve elements of selective cooperation in the inevitable confrontation. This means that the main diplomatic battles are ahead and the principle of “who blinks first” will apply in them, Fedorov is convinced.
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