After the end of hostilities in Ukraine, the European Union will need to learn how to coexist with Russia. To do this, Europe must determine a clear plan of contacts, said the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in an interview for an official EU magazine.
In particular, Josep Borrell explained that the goal of the Europeans is to help Ukraine regain the territories that it has lost since the start of hostilities. To him, this goal seems reasonable. He also noted that after the end of the conflict, coexistence with Russia for the EU will be very difficult.
“But we still have to try to coexist with the Russians on this continent,” he explained.
At the same time, the head of European diplomacy specified that the channels of communication with Moscow had never been closed.
“Of course, these channels have never been closed. The Austrian Chancellor was in Moscow recently, the President of the African Union is returning from Sochi, and two emissaries of the UN Secretary General are in Russia today, trying to find a solution to the problem of grain exports from Ukraine. We must continue to talk with Russia “, he added.
Regarding the effectiveness of anti-Russian sanctions, Borrell explained that it is too early to draw conclusions now, but they already have a certain negative impact on the Russian economy.
“One has only to look, for example, at the decline in Russian car production and its factories closing one after another. Russian civil aviation is also experiencing great difficulties in launching its aircraft due to a lack of spare parts. Of course, the ruble is at its highest level, but it is not convertible,” he said.