Moscow hopes "point of no return" not passed in relations with EU — Lavrov

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Moscow hopes that the “point of no return” in the relations between Russia and the European Union has not yet been passed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday. Lavrov said “the EU line towards the Ukrainian crisis, including “the application of ‘double standards,’” as well as attempts to shift the responsibility on others and to use sanctions pressure - all this undermines trust and stability on the continent. “We hope that the ‘point of no return’ has not yet been passed,” Lavrov said at a joint session of collegiums of Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries. Lavrov stressed that Russia considers the EU as its major important partner. “We are interested in a progressive development of cooperation on an equal and mutually beneficial basis,” he said. Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis, as the US and the EU imposed economic sanctions against Russia, and Moscow responded with a ban on food imports from countries that sanctioned it. The West accuses Russia of aiding militias in eastern Ukraine, while Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims condemning Kiev’s operation as war against Ukraine’s own people. Read more