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Updated June 24th, 2021 at 20:26 IST

Vladimir Putin is a 'supporter for dialogue and contacts' between EU-Russia: Kremlin

Kremlin on June 24 said that President Vladimir Putin backs the proposal from Germany and France for the EU to restart summits with Russia.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
Putin
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on June 24 said that President Vladimir Putin backs the proposal from Germany and France for the EU to restart summits with Russia. While speaking to reporters, Peskov said that Kremlin has assessed the initiative “positively”. He added that Putin is a supporter of creating mechanisms for dialogue and contacts between Brussels and Moscow. 

Peskov was responding to a question about the Franco-German plan to resume official meetings with the Kremlin chief. According to AP, many EU member states oppose the idea. Ukrainian Foreign Minister even blasted the proposal earlier Thursday ahead of a debate on the issue by the European Union leaders. 

While speaking at a press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "a lot is unclear" including the agenda of the proposed summit. He added, "It is necessary for our colleagues to explain what they mean and what they are aiming for”. 

It is worth noting that Russia is the EU’s biggest natural gas supplier and plays a key role in a series of international conflicts and issues linked to Europe's strategic interests, including the Iran nuclear deal, and conflicts in Syria and Libya. Ties between the bloc and Russia have deteriorated since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. The last summit between EU chiefs in Brussels and Putin took place in 2014. Brussels has even imposed waves of sanctions on Moscow, which has responded with its own counter-measures. 

Merkle calls for ‘common and unified’ response 

The EU is concerned that that the Russian President is turning increasingly authoritarian and wants to distance himself from the West. However, European heavyweight Germany has strong economic interests there, notably the NordStream 2 undersea pipeline project. France, on the other hand, is reluctant to continue waging sanctions battle with Russia, including over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers that “the events of recent months — not just in Germany — have clearly shown that it’s not enough if we react to the multitude of Russian provocations in an uncoordinated way”. 

She added, “Instead, we have to create mechanisms to respond in a common and unified way to provocations” to what she described as “hybrid attacks by Russia”. That includes outreach to countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and the western Balkans, but also engaging Russia and Putin directly.

(With inputs from AP)

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Published June 24th, 2021 at 20:26 IST

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