EU sends high envoy to Moscow amid tensions over Navalny

EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell was set to move to Moscow on Thursday to carry talks with the Kremlin as riot police proceed to make mass arrests of Alexei Navalny’s supporters.
The go to by the previous Spanish overseas minister is the primary by a high EU envoy since 2017. Relations between the 2 sides grew chilly after Moscow’s navy conquest of Crimea and assist for opposition fighters in Ukraine in 2014.

Borrell declared that he would ship a “clear message” to Moscow over problems with human rights and the arrest of Navalny, a high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The journey drew criticism from some members of the EU who argued that the Kremlin would play it off as proof of Brussel’s intention to return to business-as-usual. Moscow has ignored calls from the EU to launch Navalny who was sentenced to nearly three years imprisonment on Tuesday.
Borrell was hopeful to garner cooperation together with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, over points corresponding to local weather change and reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

Moscow not keen to debate Navalny
Borrell had already known as for Navalny’s “immediate release,” however Moscow warned the diplomat in opposition to making an attempt to make use of the assembly to additional makes an attempt to safe his freedom.
“We hope that such nonsense as linking the prospects of Russia-EU relations with the resident of a detention center will not happen,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned.
Moscow stands “ready to do everything” to develop ties with Brussels, however the Kremlin is “not ready to listen to advice” on the difficulty of Navalny, he mentioned.
Borrell was planning to fulfill with civil society leaders after the Kremlin rejected his try to fulfill with the detained activist.
Foreign ministers from across the EU had agreed to fulfill once more on February 22 to debate “possible further action” if Navalny is just not launched.
Both sides search to strengthen their arms
One doable sanction that had been tabled was to name off the extremely contentious Nord Stream 2 pipeline which is meant to deliver Russian fuel on to Europe.
However, this selection has been rejected by Berlin, a call accepted by Borrell.
“I don’t think that it is the way to resolve the problem with Navalny,” Borrell mentioned. “The Russians won’t change course because we tell them we will stop Nord Stream.”
“On the one hand, the Kremlin is eager to portray the EU as a weak actor with a lot of internal problems,” mentioned Susan Stewart from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

“On the other hand, despite official rhetoric, the Kremlin is still keen to demonstrate that western actors are interested in cooperating with Russia, since this increases its status and legitimacy.”