Lavrov Urges EU to Revive Dialogue in All Areas

Russia's top diplomat called on the European Union to revive dialogue in all fields of cooperation.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow expects the European Union to resume a full-fledged dialogue in all areas, not just on the human rights issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

"Among many sectorial dialogues we have had with the European Union, there was a dialogue on human rights. The European Union has put an end to all dialogues, and said recently that ‘we are leaving everything else frozen, but let’s talk about human rights.’ This is not how it works, if we are going to resume relations, let us resume them in full scale," Lavrov told a press conference.

Relations between Russia and the West deteriorated in 2014 over Crimea's reunification with Russia and the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Brussels, Washington and their allies accused Moscow of fueling the crisis and imposed several rounds of sanctions as a punitive measure.

The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive and undermine international stability.

In response to the restrictive measures, in August 2014, Russia announced a one-year food embargo on some products originating in states that imposed sanctions against it. The ban has since been extended for another year.