Germany and the United Kingdom believe that a "constructive and mutually beneficial" relationship with Russia is possible despite the perceived challenges posed by Moscow to European security, the countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement on Wednesday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2021) Germany and the United Kingdom believe that a "constructive and mutually beneficial" relationship with Russia is possible despite the perceived challenges posed by Moscow to European security, the countries' foreign ministers said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
"With Russia continuing to pose a challenge to European security we will strengthen our and our partners' resilience against Russia's destabilising behaviour ... At the same time, we are both convinced that a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Russia is possible and in our shared interest," the Joint Declaration read.
Germany's Heiko Maas and the UK's Dominic Raab stated their commitment to working with their Euro-Atlantic partners on security matters but also to negotiate with Russia on issues of shared interest.
"We are committed to conducting constructive dialogue with Russia through appropriate channels in order to make clear our expectations and to discuss our ideas for concrete solutions on issues of common interest," the ministers added.
Tensions between the Western countries and Moscow mounted in 2014 in the wake of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea's reunification with Russia. The relations became even more strained after the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny last year, which the West blamed on Moscow.
