Moscow Under No Illusion EU Will Rethink Approach to Relations With Russia

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has no illusions about the European Union possibly redefining its long-term approach to relations with Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

"We are aware of the discussions within the EU on relations with Russia, which are yet another attempt to rethink long-term approaches to interaction with our country. Apparently, it is too early to talk about the results, since the discussion continues. We have no illusions," Zakharova said in a statement, commenting on a new European approach towards Russia, proposed by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

According to Zakharova, the ideas put forward by Borrell do not contain even a hint of the EU's strategic vision in the Russian direction, but only provoke the consolidation of a new split in Europe, without offering any recipes for solving the accumulated problems.

"As if Russia or the EU, as geographical and civilizational neighbors, can get away from each other," the spokeswoman noted.

On Tuesday, Borrell outlined six main points of a common approach of the EU to relations with Russia against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis, discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. Among other things, it involves joint efforts to isolate Russia and supporting neighbors to overcome consequences of the global crisis, similar to assistance provided by the EU to Ukraine.