European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference following an EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on July 13, 2020. (FRANCOIS LENOIR / POOL / AFP)
The European Union’s top diplomat is set to announce that he will travel to Moscow as early as February to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov despite at least five nations asking him to defer the trip following the arrest of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
At a meeting of senior EU diplomats on Tuesday, ambassadors from Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland warned against the trip, according to a note summarizing the discussion seen by Bloomberg.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia would ignore appeals to release opposition politician Alexei Navalny as it considers his case a purely domestic legal matter
Most other EU members, including Germany and France, support Josep Borrell’s desire to push ahead with the visit, the note said, as they see it as an opportunity for the EU to pass on its message to Moscow on human rights and show support to Russian civil society.
Borrell, who is the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, is expected to formally announce his visit to take place early next month, according to two people familiar with the plans, though the pandemic could complicate travel and dates could still change as discussions were ongoing. A decision has yet to be finalized.
Ahead of the meeting, Borrell’s office wrote to Baltic foreign ministries to say he was annoyed by their decision to publish a letter on Twitter urging him in public to postpone his trip, one of the people said. In his response, Borrell’s team brushed off the objections of the Baltics.
ALSO READ: Kremlin dismisses calls for sanctions over Navalny detention
This glimpse behind the scenes of EU’s foreign policy exposed the sharp differences between the bloc’s 27 members over how to deal with Russia over Navalny’s incarceration. Russia has dismissed the West’s condemnation and denies poisoning Navalny.
A spokesman for Borrell said the commission does not comment on conversations that happen in private.
If the trip goes ahead, it would be the first of its kind since former EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini met Lavrov in Moscow in 2017.
ALSO READ: Russia bars more EU officials over Navalny sanctions
The 44-year-old activist was arrested Sunday when he landed in Moscow from Germany where he’d been recovering from a poisoning attack. He was sentenced to 30 days jail by an impromptu court. Navalny had been flown to Berlin after a nerve-agent attack last August.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia would ignore appeals to release Navalny as it considers his case a purely domestic legal matter.
In a Jan 18 letter to EU foreign ministers, Borrell condemned the arrest yet made no reference to more punitive actions. EU foreign ministers and the bloc’s leaders are expected to discuss the Navalny case in further meetings this month and wider relations with Russia in February and March.
According to the notes from the Tuesday discussion, at least eight member states, including Denmark and Italy, appeared ready to back sanctions, while others said they were prepared to explore further diplomatic measures too.
READ MORE: Lavrov wants 'honest' Russia-EU dialogue
One central European ambassador suggested setting a deadline for Navalny’s release and agreeing on an EU response if it was not met. However, the German envoy cautioned against discussing sanctions before it was clear how events in the Navalny case would unfold.
