Former Prime Minister of Brandenburg, representative of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) Matthias Platzeck predicted “complete loneliness” for Europe without Russia. He spoke about the importance of resuming relations between Moscow and Brussels in an interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
The German politician urged to start work on a joint “security architecture” with Russia on equal terms.
According to him, if this does not happen, Europe can push the country towards further rapprochement with China. “Then, if the United States re-elect the” wrong “president – and this can happen – we Europeans may suddenly find ourselves completely alone in this world,” Platzeck said.
He also added that the EU countries will not be able to resolve the issues facing them without the participation of Russia. The sphere of pressing issues, in his opinion, includes climate change, the fight against terrorism, the problem of refugees, security in the Near and Middle East, as well as disarmament. “There is no ocean between us and Russia. And that alone is enough to take care of improving relations,” Platzeck explained.
The politician called for a rethinking of the sanctions policy towards Moscow, since the restrictions “harmed both sides” and led not only to a deterioration in political relations, but also to an increase in the threat of military exacerbation.
The Foreign Ministers of the EU countries will discuss on January 25 the possibility of introducing new sanctions against Russia. At the same time, the representative of the EU foreign policy service Peter Stano noted that the decision to impose sanctions is always made only in case of unanimous support by all member countries of the association.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution urging to immediately block the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and introduce new sanctions against Russia because of the arrest of Alexei Navalny. The deputies demanded his release, as well as tougher anti-Russian sanctions.