Relations between Russia and the EU are at a “crossroads,” but “do not face any problems that we cannot solve” with “true respect for each other’s opinions and interests,” Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in an op-ed piece, published Thursday in the Greek daily Kathimerini.
Putin, who is visiting Greece on Friday, accused the EU of undermining relations between the two countries.
However, he does not appear to fear a hostile reception in the Greek capital.
“I know that Greece remembers that its achievement of independence was due in no small measure to Russia’s efforts,” Putin wrote. “Unfortunately, the decline in relations between Russia and the European Union stands in the way of a further strengthening of our cooperation.”
Putin singled out the energy sector as one example where cooperation between Russia and Greece had been affected by Moscow’s declining relations with the EU.
“Since 2006, Gazprom has been actively promoting the South Stream project. However, at a certain point, its implementation became impossible due to the unconstructive stance adopted by the European Commission,” Putin said.
The EU, for its part, has not softened its stance on Russia.
Speaking on Thursday at a press conference ahead of the G-7 summit in Japan, European Council President Donald Tusk said economic sanctions, imposed after annexed Crimea in 2014, “will remain unchanged as long as the Minsk agreements are not fully implemented.”
Tusk added: “Unfortunately, there is much less progress on the implementation of Minsk than we had hoped for one year ago in Elmau.”
Some EU countries may be wavering.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the Baltic News Service that the EU is facing difficult talks on extending the sanctions due to increased resistance in some EU countries, the AFP reports.
“We are aware that resistance in the EU to extending the sanctions towards Russia has increased,” Steinmeier said in an interview, published on Thursday. “It will be more difficult than it was last year to find a common position on this issue.”