Russia warned it is “ready” to cut relations with the European Union if the bloc imposes its economic sanctions

Russian Chancellor Sergei Lavrov warned this Friday that the country is ready to sever relations with the European Union (EU) if the supranational bloc imposes sanctions that harm the Russian economy.

“We are ready for that,” Lavrov said in an interview on the Solovyev Live YouTube channel on Friday.When we see again, as has so often been the case, sanctions that pose a risk to our economy, even in the most sensitive areas“, He said.

He added: “We don’t want to separate ourselves from a peaceful life, but we have to be ready. If you want peace, you must prepare for war

The EU is working on a proposal to sanction Russia for the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, two people with knowledge of the discussions against the Bloomberg office said. The possibility will be explored at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers and discussed by the 27 Heads of State or Government at the March Summit

The spokesman for the top European diplomat, Joseph Borrell, responded shortly after the comments, stating that Moscow “has already given a clear indication” of what it wants for the future of the relationship

Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack that nearly killed him, attributed by both he and Western governments to the Russian secret services. On February 2, the politician was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison for violating the probation of a previously suspended fraud conviction. Other members of the international community, including the United States, have also condemned Navalny’s imprisonment and called for his immediate release.

Tensions between Moscow and Brussels then grow Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, visited the Russian capital last week, when Lavrov used a joint press conference to contaminate the bloc and call it an unreliable partner

Lavrov accused Western countries of using the case as a pretext to increase pressure on Russia.If it wasn’t for Navalny, they would have found something else“, He said.

Given the failed visit and Lavrov’s statements, Borrell spokesman Peter Stano said that while the Commission does not typically respond to individual comments, both Lavrov’s words and the Kremlin’s subsequent clarification were noted

Following the remarks of the Foreign Minister, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call that Russia does not want to sever relations, but must be prepared. “In case insanity prevails and such hostile events occur” by the EU“We must ensure the security of the most sensitive strategic areas and be ready to replace anything that can be taken away from us with national infrastructure,” he added.

However, Stano said, “What is clear is what Russia’s idea is about how to proceed in this relationship. And for that we don’t need the Secretary of State to give an interview in a local medium, we already had a clear indication in how they responded to the High Representative’s initiative to see if they want to reverse the negative trend in our relationship

The EU is Russia’s largest trading partner. The bloc imported $ 162.5 billion in goods from Russia in 2019, compared to $ 84.4 billion in exports.

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