Wed 28 April 2021:
The European Union should prepare for a lengthy and difficult “period of political confrontation” with Russia, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
“We are going to face a long and hard period of political confrontation with Russia, and we must prepare .
.. I think this is an undeniable reality because Russia now is convinced that its confrontation with Europe … is the surest way to reinforce the legitimacy of the Russian power,” Borrell told European lawmakers.
“I see a worrying trend from Russian authorities that seems to be choosing to deliberately deepen the confrontation with the West, with us,” he told lawmakers.
“We must therefore define a modus vivendi that will avoid permanent confrontation with a neighbour who seems to have decided to act as an adversary.
“I think that we have to be prepared for a long, hard period in our relationship with Russia,” he warned.
Tensions have appeared to ease slightly on two fronts after Russia said it was drawing down forces deployed near the Ukrainian frontier for drills and transferred Navalny to hospital.
But a spat sparked by Prague’s accusation that Russian intelligence was behind a deadly 2014 blast on Czech territory rumbled on Wednesday with Moscow kicking out seven diplomats from EU member states.
That move followed the coordinated turfing out of Russian embassy staff by some European capitals after tit-for-tat expulsions between Prague and Moscow.
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