At the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) in Zagreb on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 March, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called for improved relations with both Russia and Turkey. Both countries were on the agenda of the meeting.
“Our relations with these two countries are difficult, but we need to improve them from a different angles. We have accumulated difficulties and we need to re-launch a new approach to overcome these difficulties”, Borrell told the media.
Following the annexation of Crimea, the EU developed a policy of a two-track approach towards Moscow. And while preserving the five guiding principles, Europeans will look at areas of mutual interest, Mr Borrell said. “We need to increase our engagement on selective issues where we need to have a good partnership with Russia: energy, climate change, the Arctic, Russia's engagement in Syria and Libya, which play important roles affecting our security”, he explained.
Relations with Moscow are a sensitive issue for Europeans. Thus, while France wishes to re-engage in a more developed “security and confidence” dialogue with Russia (see EUROPE 12438/15), several other Member States are more distrustful.
Upon his arrival on Friday 6 March, Estonian Minister Urmas Reinsalu said there is “no need to replace the guiding principles” towards Russia. For his Latvian counterpart, Edgar Rinkevics, it is not a question of “improving” relations, but rather of how to improve the five principles. “Of course, there are issues where we should look at the possibilities for a dialogue, but in the interest of the EU”. “It's not about improving relationships for the sake of improving them”, he warned.
According to a senior European official, who described relations with Russia as “rather complex”, the debate between the Ministers confirmed the need to “revitalise” relations, given that Russia has become a more important player in the world in recent years (Syria, Libya, Africa).
Europeans therefore plan to analyse what has been done under the five guiding principles, what European interests are and how to defend them more clearly. The idea would have been raised to look in more concrete terms at what has worked well so far and perhaps make concrete proposals on what more can be done, according to this source.
Furthermore, the High Representative announced that he would visit Russia “as soon as possible”, while specifying that his agenda was already full for the next two months. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)