Russia, on Friday, reacted critically to Ukrainian plans to join the European Union (EU), with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov describing Kiev’s intention to join the bloc as “extremely unlikely’’ to be harmless.
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership shortly after the Russian invasion began on February 24.
While Lavrov accepted that Ukraine’s accession was essentially a matter between Kiev and Brussels, he nonetheless accused the EU of having transformed itself.
According to him, he had ambitions far beyond Europe and transformation from a constructive economic platform into an aggressive militant actor.
The Ukrainian Government has been attempting to negotiate its accession to the EU as part of its peace negotiations with Russia, offering concessions to Moscow in return.
However, the Deputy Head of Russia’s delegation to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, signalled a shift in Moscow’s negotiating position in an interview on Thursday.
In the interview, he said that Russia now saw no difference between the EU and NATO.
