War aftermath: Russia’s envoy to EU believes bilateral ties have reached lowest point ever

Amid souring relations between Russia and the European Union, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU believes although both parties prefer not to slam the door shut, their relations reached the lowest point ever. While speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum-2022, Russia’s envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov acknowledged that the relationship between Russia and the EU deteriorated ever since President Vladimir Putin started a "special military operation" against Ukraine. 

Citing the EU as the most preferred partner for business, he said neither Russia nor the 27-bloc union would shut their doors despite several disparities among both parties. "Of course, we don’t slam the door shut, and they also are too cautious to slam the door shut, because, whatever one may say, the European Union remains our largest trade and economic partner," he said.

The special envoy noted before the war, energy cooperation between Russia and the European countries served as a "stabiliser of relations", but the current circumstances have changed everything. He stressed after Putin's action, both Moscow and the EU knew that there would be no longer business as usual.

"The current crisis in relations between Russia and the West has been characterised by such a scale of contradictions that the European Union is ready to stake its own well-being for political gains," he said. According to the Russian envoy, now the countries have started undermining their economic interests to bolster their political gains. "This is the main characteristic of the new reality: economic interests do not determine the actions of a state on the world stage, politics begins to take over, and political needs are realised without regard to economic consequences, no matter how grave they may be," Chizhov noted.

EU-Russia business relationship post-war

It is worth mentioning here Russian boss started the unlawful and brutal war against Ukraine in February this year. Russia's major economic chunk depends on its energy supply to other countries. Among its clients, several European countries such as Germany, the UK, and Hungary are the top buyers. However, after the onset of the war, the leaders decided to penalise Moscow by minimising their dependence on Russian oil, gas and coal. Recently, the EU imposed sanctions on coal and oil. However, a decision on gas is yet to come.

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