On Wednesday 3 May, Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said in Brussels that Moscow would like a "more pragmatic, more result-oriented relationship with the European Union, with fewer slogans and more substance" in a multipolar world in which it wants "the EU to be a major player both in economy and politically". He also said that he does not expect Brexit to be damaging either to the EU, or to the UK, or to third countries linked to the EU by a strategic partnership.
Chizhov was speaking to press a week after the meeting between High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov (see EUROPE 11773), and shortly after the meeting in Sotchi between Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Asked about what he thought of Brexit, Chizhov said that "all the third countries that have partnerships with the EU will have to calculate the effect of Brexit". He particularly mentioned the fact that on 29 March 2019 the UK will no longer be held by the cooperation agreement with Russia, by the anti-dumping decisions, by the single sky agreement or the tariff quotas on imported agricultural products, and that all this will lead to long negotiations. He also pointed out that all the old agreements on civil aviation, some of which date back to 1950, will have to be renegotiated with the UK.
In Chizhov's opinion, "the best possible option, the day the UK leaves the EU, would be [the UK's] lifting of sanctions on Russia". But he immediately added: "I expect the sanctions to be lifted before Brexit occurs. I hope the Brexit process will go hand in hand with a precise plan and a timetable, and that the people on either side of the Channel will not have to suffer, or in the other parts of the world either".
Asked to talk about the suspicions of Russian propaganda in Europe, Chizhov replied: "We have no intention to destabilise EU. We want the EU to be a major player both in economy and politically. We see how fast Asia is developing, how fast Latin America will be developing tomorrow and how fast Africa will be developing the day after tomorrow. We should be realistic in our strategic goals. We should limit ourselves to maintaining our position in this multipolar world", he said, regretting that Russian policy is "to foster the cooperation partnership with the EU", whilst the EU, in its global agenda, describes its relations with Russia as a "challenge". (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)