Relations between Russia and the EU are "at zero level" according to Russian prime minister Dimitri Medvedev. Medvedev was speaking in Moscow at a meeting with the visiting Slovenian prime minister Marjan Sarec.
"Of course, we can survive without them, developing bilateral relations, namely with our friends from Slovenia and with many other European countries, however, this is not normal," Medvedev said. "We shall see whether the new leadership of the European Commission implements any measures to normalize them, but there should not be any preconditions", the Russian news agency TASS quoted the head of the Russian government as saying.
"We were not the ones to destroy them [relations], and we should not be the ones to recover them. If they want to recover them, we will do it," he stated. "I have reiterated this to the current leadership of the EU, because without [the relations], it is difficult to have full-fledged dialogue," the Russian prime minister was quoted as saying.
The European Union imposed sanctions on Russia following Russia's intervention in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, and other incidents which put into question Russia's commitment to a rules based international order.
source: commonspace.eu with TASS news agency, Moscow.
photo: Slovenian prime minister Marjan Saric and Russian prime minister Dimitri Medvedev in Moscow on 10 September 2019
