Russia-EU relations are in turmoil again

(Baonghean) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has just issued a statement saying that Russia is ready to expand the travel ban list for European Union (EU) officials if the West increases the number of Russian officials on its "blacklist". Previously, both Russia and the EU had a "war of words" with each other after Russia passed a blacklist of 89 EU politicians banned from entering Russia...

Tit for tat

The European Union was the first to issue a “blacklist” targeting Russian officials, so it can be seen that the “blacklist” Russia issued this time was intended to “retaliate” against the EU. The “blacklist” that Russia has just announced includes famous figures such as Secretary General of the Council of the EU Uwe Corsepius, former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Polish Justice Minister Robert Kupiecki, and former British Defense Minister Malcolm Rifkind.

After Russia approved a “blacklist” of 89 EU politicians banned from entering Russia, the European Union voiced its opposition to Russia, saying that the EU considered this move by Russia “completely arbitrary and unreasonable”. In response to the EU’s reactions, Russia defended its decision. Speaking to the press yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov affirmed that the EU’s statement was completely “unreasonable”. According to Mr. Lavrov, Russia has been holding back for too long and that this list was in response to the EU’s unfriendly unilateral move, not a provocation by Moscow. Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov also affirmed that the list was not drawn up randomly.

EU leaders at a meeting in Brussels on March 19, 2015. Photo: AP

Along with diplomatic sanctions, both the EU and Russia have suffered significant losses related to mutual economic sanctions. According to the latest figures released by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EU has lost at least 21 billion euros in the trade "war" with Russia. According to Japanese economic experts, the EU has lost about 30 billion euros. Meanwhile, Western sanctions have also caused Russia to lose 160 billion USD.

Not yetback to normal

Since the beginning of the year, the Russia-EU relationship has improved a lot, both Russia and the EU hope to soon restore relations and maintain dialogue channels on cooperation directions, cooling down current tensions. In fact, both sides have not taken any real steps to improve bilateral relations. Moreover, while the EU is still struggling with internal disagreements in adjusting its relationship with Russia, Russia is entangled in diplomatic disputes with Ukraine in the Donbass region, making the EU seem not to really feel secure about Russia.

In that context, Russia's retaliation against the EU this time can be seen as Russia's desire to send a message to the EU that sanctioning Russia means the EU is hurting itself. Because the relationship between the EU and Russia has not improved much, the new Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini assessed that Russia's move this time is "not a big surprise" and "this is a predictable reaction" to a similar ban that the EU previously applied to Russian citizens.

While the situation in eastern Ukraine remains “tangled”, the Russia-EU tensions this time will make the problem even more difficult to solve. As long as the Ukraine issue is not completely resolved, Russia-EU relations cannot return to normal. Russia’s strong response to the EU this time has raised concerns that the “boxing match” between Russia and the EU will never end. If the EU cannot reach consensus and have a suitable dialogue method with Russia, if Russia does not change its approach to the EU, the retaliatory actions will increasingly cause the relationship between the two sides to fall into a deadlock.

Nguyen Cao Bien