Lisbon, Feb. 17, 2021 (Lusa) – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, argued on Wednesday that the European Union should react to the "hostility" shown by Russia in the recent visit of Josep Borrell with "cool heads", ensuring, however, that "there will be consequences".

Santos Silva admitted, in response to PSD deputy Duarte Marques, that the visit by the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, "certainly went wrong", given "the negative results" of the visit.

For the Foreign Affairs Minister, "the negative thing that happened was an excessive level of hostility from Russia towards the EU, beyond anything that is admissible in diplomatic relations".

"Some hostility can be understood in the case of diplomatic relations over very difficult processes, but the level of verbal hostility used by Mr [Sergei] Lavrov was evidently excessive and will have consequences," Santos Silva pointed out, referring to the Russian foreign minister, who, at a press conference in St Petersburg, referred to a possible rupture of relations with the EU in the event of new sanctions.

Furthermore, Josep Borrell's visit coincided with "a further stage in the judicial persecution of Mr Alexei Navalny and the expulsion of three diplomats from three EU member states", he added.

For Santos Silva, the current difficulties in the relationship of the 27 with Moscow "are clear", referring namely to the annexation of Crimea and the violation of the sovereignty of Ukraine's territorial integrity, which "represented a worsening in Russia's behaviour that is not acceptable to the EU".

On the other hand, the "autocratic drift in which the Russian state finds itself" evidently "can only aggravate the relationship with the EU, which makes issues of the rule of law and human rights fundamental issues in bilateral relations," he added.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs argued that it is necessary to react to Russian statements, "but to react with a cool head", considering that "replacing calculation, wisdom, reflection and intelligence in diplomacy with emotional rather than reasonable reactions is not a good way to proceed".

However, Santos Silva believes that "there is no reason" for the EU to change its "principles of relationship with Russia", namely the fulfilment of the Minsk Agreements, selective cooperation with Russia in matters of common interest, support for Russian civil society, the reinforcement of European resilience in the face of cyber-attacks and support for the Eastern neighbourhood.

The Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers will meet next Monday and "there will certainly be an evolution in the EU's relationship with Russia", Santos Silva said, admitting that "this relationship is at its lowest point".

Josep Borrell's visit to Moscow was marked by the Kremlin's expulsion of diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, and was described by some MEPs as "humiliating".

In a note published on Sunday on the European External Action Service (EEAS) blog, Borrell described the visit as "very complicated", marked by an "aggressively staged press conference" and an indication that "the Russian authorities do not want to use" the opportunity to "have a constructive dialogue with the EU".

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