EU Commission Disappointed by Russia’s Stance on Eastern Partnership Summit

In April, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said that Moscow’s reaction to the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga would be “severe," adding that the partnership has a clear anti-Russian sentiment.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Commission is disappointed by Russia’s negative stance on the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn said Monday.

“We are a little bit disappointed about such a statement, because the Riga summit will show and demonstrate what is possible if you have friendly, peaceful cooperation among members, and we clearly invite Russia to participate in this kind of relationship,” Hahn said at a press briefing.

The Eastern Partnership summit will bring together EU and former Soviet Republics in the Latvian capital on May 21-22, 2015.

The partnership is an EU initiative with the stated goal of strengthening relations with its neighbors in Eastern Europe and Southern Caucasus – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Brussels claims the initiative is aimed purely at deepening EU member states' ties with its neighbors.