Question: How has the relationship between the EU and Russia been impacted by the sanctions? And would the relationship recover if sanctions were removed?
Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov: In aligning in spring of 2014 with the will of the United States, which has turned unilateral restrictive measures into an essential component of its offensive geopolitical arsenal, the European Union decisively ruptured the hitherto strong fabric of Russia-EU cooperation. Over several decades we had been arduously labouring on enhancing our trade and investment ties, reinforcing our institutional architecture and opening up new channels of political dialogue.
The hope was that by acquiring a “critical mass” of cooperation, Russia and the EU could make the next qualitative step towards a single economic space for our entrepreneurs and citizens from Lisbon to Vladivostok. This would have been a game-changer, defining the outlines of a pan-continental trading bloc with global political and economic clout. Those hopes now look seriously dashed, though not perhaps entirely scuppered.
What has the EU achieved through its much-vaunted “unity” (which now passes for policy) on Russia? The implementation of the Minsk agreements – the professed primary objective of EU “sanctions” - is glaringly being held up by Ukraine. Kiev openly admits its vital interest in maintaining the lucrative status quo that allows it to free-ride on generous Western political and financial support, while holding Russia responsible for lack of decisive progress on the reform front.
Russia’s economy has hardly been reduced to “tatters”. Many of our industries and, especially, agriculture are performing better than before. On the contrary, it is the EU Member States that have voluntarily locked themselves out of many Russian markets, thus losing some of their competitive edge against international rivals. Moreover, EU and US economic pressure certainly has not helped to assuage Russian concerns about creeping Western expansionism. Those apprehensions, especially with NATO military deployments mushrooming along our borders, are stronger than ever. Sadly, the image of the European Union has been slipping in Russian opinion polls, owing in no small part to the relentless anti-Russian propaganda campaign running full steam in most mainstream EU-based media resources.
The abandonment of the disastrous EU “sanctions” policies would certainly be a step in the right direction. Yet, it alone would hardly suffice. As evidenced by the Ukrainian crisis, the fundamentals of the Russia-EU relationship are in dire need of repair. Before confidence can be restored, the EU needs to credibly demonstrate its willingness to reject its “holier-than-thou” uncompromising attitude to its regional partners, admit the mutuality of our interests in tackling common challenges on an equitable basis and, perhaps most importantly, refrain from playing geopolitical “zero-sum” games in our shared neighbourhood. It is only then that we may able to move past the “business as usual” mode and envisage a truly common Europe for the succeeding generations of our countrymen.
