Russian bitterness...

(BRUSSELS2) The Russian ambassador to NATO, Alexander V. Grushko made a noteworthy intervention this morning (June 27) at the meeting of SecDef13 (security defense 2013).

A real addiction

First of all, he wanted to recall a reality. Despite appearances, " Russia is more dependent on the European Union than the EU on Russia ". Then, and above all, the man who was also a former deputy foreign minister, regretted the way his country was treated in discussions with the European Union. " With the European Union, we have proposed signing a global agreement on security and crisis management. And we have just received the project to be associated with EU crisis management operations. (...) The way we are treated must change. We are all exposed to the same threats (terrorism) ».

Equal to equal, at high level

What Russia wants is to be treated as equals, at a high level, and on a regular basis, not as a simple provider of ad hoc technical solutions. " We are a strategic partner. We cannot treat countries like Russia or the United States like other partners. We need to have a “real” partnership” as he detailed, in an aside after the meeting, at B2.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)