DIALOGUE WITH RUSSIA

The EU wants everyone to comply with the Minsk Agreement. Understandably this includes the Kiev government, the self-defense forces in Donetsk and Lugansk, and the European Union, because Germany and France have, by and large, acted on behalf of the EU, all the more so since all these agreements were approved by the UN Security Council. If these agreements are to be implemented by everyone, then probably Russia should convince Lugansk and Donetsk, who put their signatures under the Minsk agreements, to constructively and fully fulfil their part of their obligations, whereas Germany and France must ensure that the Ukrainian government does the same. Russia strives to do its part of the deal well, but, unfortunately, Kiev is avoiding a direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, although it is mentioned in black and white in the Minsk documents.

If the EU's position is that everyone should fulfill their share of the obligations, then why are the sanctions imposed on Russia alone? The obvious sabotage by Kiev of everything that is written in the Minsk document should have some response on behalf of those who have taken this government under their wing.

The EU says it shares many common interests with Russia with regard to cooperation in solving international problems, including the Middle East, North Africa, the Palestinian problem, Afghanistan, the Korean peninsula, the climate, and much more. Russia also agrees that these are common problems and it is important to join efforts in finding a solution to all these international issues.

The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation states that Russia has an interest in a strategic partnership with the EU. But now the EU points out that the development of relations with Russia is a challenge. The Brussels policy to 'freeze' relations between Russia and the EU and to keep them that way (in an attempt to 'punish' Russia for the people of Crimea exercising their free will) and at the same time to cooperate with Russia  in order to resolve international issues looks half-hearted and ambiguous. The interests of both the Russian and EU people is how they are going to live side by side, and whether both sides will seek compromises.

The EU must reach a consensus with its Member States so that the EU is united and strong, and no domestic games divert the European Union from maintaining partnerships, including with the Russian Federation. All artificial barriers should be removed and give way to a normal, honest and mutually respectful dialogue based on facts, rather than fleeting interests driven by ideology.

Path to Cooperation

1. Both sides should take steps to prevent the relationship worsening further still through new military to military arrangements between Russia and EU Member States, almost all of which are also members of NATO;
2. There should be a gradual lifting of EU sanctions on Russia in return for gradual but clearly evident implementation of the Minsk agreements;
3. Both sides should pursue a combined EU-Russian effort to provide assistance to all those affected by the conflict in Eastern Ukraine;
4. There should be selective EU-Russia engagement on a wide range of issues based on mutual self-interest. Here the priorities include continued cooperation on Syria, counter-terrorism and the prevention of WMD proliferation, plus cooperation on climate change, the Arctic, space and energy;
5. Governments on both sides should endorse and support more, not less, people-to-people contacts;
6. There should be the beginning of an open ended dialogue on the fundamentals of European order and on the competing narratives on what has gone wrong in the Russia-EU relationship;
7. Both sides should encourage high-level Track II dialogues while official channels are blocked or restricted for political reasons;
8. Both sides should make a commitment to active diplomacy in relation to the other, without preconditions.
9. An EU-Russia Summit should be convened. Suggestions that a summit would constitute either a reward for Russian behaviour or a sign of the EU’s willingness to return to business as usual are not convincing. Diplomatic engagement is not a reward for anything but a necessity given the fact that the EU and Russia are neighbours, share the same strategic space, face many of the same threats, and by working together could improve the lot of all Europeans while still disagreeing about many things.