Maria Zakharova: "Collective West" continues to lose faces

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke about the "loss of face" by the West and appreciated NATO and EU relations with Moscow.

Maria Zakharova answered questions from The Moscow Post correspondent on relations with NATO and the European Union.

"Continuing the topic on Brussels - there are numerous signs of hostility towards Russia and the union Belarus. It seems that the Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin are not dealing with two separate organizations - NATO and the EU - but with a consolidated Euro-NATO union. The Natov strand of relations has already been broken. What can be expected in relations with the EU?, "Asked the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

The second question concerned the actions of the West. "It seems that the main responsibility for predictability and stability in Russia's relations with the collective West now falls on Washington - Brussels has struck itself out. Can this be considered a "loss of face" not only for NATO, but also for the EU?, "Maria Zakharova was asked.

"If we talk about this strand, which you cited as an example, then in the case of NATO, it is really not far from the true state of affairs... After the failed withdrawal of the alliance's forces from Afghanistan in Brussels - NATO Brussels - apparently, in order to justify their existence, they began to inflate this very "Russian threat" with redoubled energy, purposefully took with some power such an inconvenience to destroy the remaining channels of our interaction, "said Maria Zakharova.

She suggested that cooperation with Russia is apparently "unnatural for NATO in its current form."

The diplomat noted that this organization in its conceptual development "simply could not overcome the logic of the cold war." "By and large, it is a relic of the cold war," she added.

"As for Washington's line through NATO to deter our country, of course, has an impact on EU policy," she said and added: "We are talking about the fact that, unfortunately, this substitution of concepts in the political context, it is happening. Because the word, a political word, political weight at the EU becomes less".

"In general... experiencing a very dangerous moment for itself in general. Suppression of its political will by the will of NATO. But who plays a key role in this process? This, of course, is such a fighting group - several EU member states that, apparently, have not outlived irrational historical phobias regarding our country, "she also said.

Zakharova explained that they not only exploit, they invent and exploit anti-Russian myths. "They do this in their specific interests, in the interests of the global customer, who is also known to us," said Maria Zakharova.

"But the most important thing that distinguishes this destructive activity is that they are trying to impose, instill this flawed ideology in other member countries," she said.

She also believes that, by and large, "still the predominance or pressure of the alliance over the EU."

"As a result, the EU is still guided in the Russian direction by outdated, unconstructive installations linking the entire range of our relations with the implementation of the Minsk agreements," the diplomat said.

Maria Zakharova also recalled the origin of the EU.

"He came from the EU. From economic cooperation. The basis of interaction, the basis, it is naturally connected with the economy. What does the economy say in any direction? About priority, interest and profitability, the direct benefit of interaction... But the European Union acts contrary to its own interests, contrary to national interests, the economic interests of its member countries. This charging is anti-Russian, political charging - it prevails. Has it matured within the EU, on some consolidated general basis? No, of course not. Why? Therefore, the opinion of citizens of EU member states was generally not taken into account. These are political policy doctrines that were imposed from above - by a group of countries, countries that lobbied for a similar approach from the outside..., "she explained.

"The triad of principles invented by Eurostructures this year - rebuffing, shackling, selective interaction - simply risks becoming such a real" Bermuda triangle, "in which the prerequisites for rethinking relations with Russia in a more constructive way can be completely lost," said a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

She also recalled that most EU countries are members of NATO. "But it shouldn't in theory or practice make these structures identical. Despite the differences that remain between us, the EU remains not only a geographical neighbor, but also the largest trading partner, "the diplomat added.

The representative of the Foreign Ministry noted that contacts between Russia and the EU continue, including at the highest level. They address a wide range of issues.

"And most importantly, we are developing cooperation with individual EU member states, so to speak, not only in the areas I mentioned, but in fact, on the largest integration, largest economic, largest energy projects," the diplomat explained.

"You know, the" loss of face, "in my opinion, has occurred more than once by the collective West, and not only in the context of the development of relations with our country. They lost their face many times. If we talk about our country, about the situation in which we were directly involved, so to speak, this is certainly 2014, when a violent, unconstitutional coup in Ukraine was carried out with the support of Western countries, "she recalled.

"We have no illusions about the true values ​ ​ of our partners. We did not wait, we do not expect goodwill in relation to Russia - that is when things are conducted in this way. But is this the only example?, "She added and recalled the situation in other countries, in particular in Afghanistan.

"If we talk about our foreign policy, including in the western direction, it is not built on emotions... it is based on national interests... This ideology of pragmatism and the realization of national interests on the basis of international law..., "Maria Zakharova emphasized.

But she did not comment in detail on the visit of the US Secretary of Defense to Ukraine, recalling that each country has the right to develop relations in all areas with other sovereign countries that are of mutual interest.