Russian ambassador: Kremlin isn’t trying to destabilize the EU

The West doesn’t necessarily have superior values, Vladimir Chizhov said.

Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the EU, denied Moscow was trying to destabilize the European Union but said he envisioned a contest of “values” between Russia and the West in the decades ahead.

Chizhov, speaking at a press briefing Wednesday, blamed the strained relations between the EU and Russia on the United States and urged Brussels “to be more independent in its decision-making.”

Asked why so many diplomats in Brussels believe Russia was working to undermine the West and accuse the Kremlin of meddling in European elections, Chizhov said the claims were a throwback to the Cold War.

“I have a feeling that this anti-Russian rhetoric, bordering on the verge of hysteria, which was originally linked to domestic political problems in the United States in view of last year’s presidential elections — this has become a contagious thing crossing the Atlantic and spreading across Europe,” he said.

Chizhov added: “Let me tell you in all frankness: It is not Russia’s intention to destabilize the European Union. We want to see the European Union as a major player on the global scene, both in terms of economy and in political terms.”

Chizhov’s briefing in Brussels came a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Merkel said she told Putin Western sanctions against Russia would be lifted once the Minsk peace accord is implemented in eastern Ukraine.

Relations between the West and Russia are badly frayed, largely as a result of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, including the separatist war in the east and the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The EU blames Russia for failing to implement the Minsk 2 accord, while Russia points the finger at Ukraine.

Chizhov said he believed Russia and Europe shared a certain civilizational outlook, but he urged the EU not to be so confident in the superiority of its values.

“In this multipolar world order, I believe that Russia and the European Union are pillars of the same European, Eurasian, Euro-Atlantic — depends on your point of view — civilization,” he said.

The EU should stop “pretending to be the ultimate source of truth, or the source of a certain set of elite values,” he argued. “It’s a competitive world, also in terms of values.”

He warned against “hegemony,” saying: “I think we should limit ourselves to maintaining our positions in this world.”

Click Here: Geelong Cats Guernsey