Mogherini Echoes Putin's Statement, Says EU Not Interested in Russia's Weakness

The European Union is not interested in "Russia's weakness," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Friday, noting excellent cooperation between the sides on various international issues.

ROME (Sputnik) – Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly said that Moscow is not interested in EU's weakness and prefers to deal with united Brussels.

Recently, Putin said that "Europe must be united despite all its attempts to build new walls."

"Europe is not interested in Russia’s weakness or crisis," Mogherini said in an interview with Italian Corriere Della Sera newspaper, when asked about Brussels-Moscow relations in light of Russia's success in Syria.

The EU foreign policy chief added that the European Union and Russia has been effectively cooperating on many issues of international concern, including the Iran nuclear deal.

Mogherini noted that the impact of the economic crisis on Russia, a country with very dynamic foreign policy, might be bigger than it seems.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow hopes that the European Union will not be led by a "group of Russophobes" and will move toward policy of normalizing relations with Russia. He also added that Moscow is not interested in the collapse of the European Union, and wants to see it strong and independent.