In 2014, the EU brought down the architecture of many-sided ties with our country, painstakingly created over the years. The root cause was the support of the European Union for the anti-constitutional coup d’etat in Ukraine with a pronounced anti-Russian, anti-Russian flavour. As a result, the Russia-EU summits, which were held twice a year, and the meetings of the Russian government with the European Commission have been suspended. The formats of the Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council and two dozen sectoral dialogues are frozen.
Since 2004, when the Baltic countries joined the EU membership, there has been open and consistent discrimination against the Russian-speaking population living there.
Recurring Pro Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU, an attempt to shift responsibility for the deterioration of EU-Russian relations to the EU, diverting attention from Russia's aggressive policy toward neighbouring countries. EU-Russian relations have been strained since 2014 because of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, policies in the neighbourhood, disinformation campaigns and negative internal developments.
There was no anti-Russian coup d’état in Kyiv in 2014; this is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan protests depicting the 2013-14 revolution as a coup d'état. Ukrainians spontaneously united against the actions of President Viktor Yanukovych after his government, due to pressure from Russia, refused to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union, which had taken seven years to negotiate.
It was Russia that annexed Crimea and continues to destabilise Ukraine, which was the reason for the EU and the US to impose sanctions on Russia. From the outset, the EU has supported Ukraine's territorial integrity, condemning the clear violations of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces. The EU has regularly renewed sanctions against Russia since 2014.
As stated by Josep Borrell this weekend:
"The Russian authorities did not want to seize this opportunity to have a more constructive dialogue with the EU. This is regrettable and we will have to draw the consequences, stated HV/VR Josep Borrel after his visit to Moscow. It seems that Russia is progressively disconnecting itself from Europe and looking at democratic values as an existential threat."
As for the discrimination of Russian-speakers in the Baltic countries, it's an unfounded and recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative. Examples of the variations of these false claims include Baltic countries developing apartheid regimes; authorities introducing bans on the Russian language and discriminating Russian media.
We live in a country [Poland] where Russophobia has reached the level of official state policy. Work is being done to redefine the legal definition of espionage to include cooperation with media from the countries considered as hostile.
It is fascinating to see that Polish public discourse is dominated by the idea that Poland needs to have the worst possible relations with a neighbor, who is a nuclear superpower.
This message is a part of the Kremlin’s widespread narrative about Russophobic Poland. The Kremlin-controlled media regularly accuse the political elites of Poland of Russophobia and the implementation of anti-Russian policies.
The Polish authorities do not promote Russophobia or any type of “anti-Russian paranoia”. The Polish authorities have repeatedly stated that Poland is willing to improve its relations with Russia – these relations will automatically improve if Russia starts observing the regulations of international law. In a statement of 21 December 2019, the Polish authorities reiterated their openness to continue the historical dialogue with Russia, for example through restarting the work of the bilateral Group on Difficult Issues.
As the bane of foreign meddling in Russia’s sovereign affairs and boy-toy of MSM Alexey Navalny retired from the scene after he finally faced the widely-expected, but still pretty soft punishment for his multiple violations of the law. So now, the masters behind the attempt to destabilize Russia needs some another fake leader of its network of influence. Fortunately, for them, there is a candidate.
Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, which was proclaimed the ‘winner’ of the presidential election in Belarus by NATO member states, but fled the country and is now hiding in Lithuania, is already promoting Navalny’s wife, Yulia, as the ‘leader’ of the ‘Russian opposition’.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Alexei Navalny. The claim that Navalny is somehow used by the West and foreign special services for the political destabilisation of Russia is disinformation.
Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has long been the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin. His candidacy in the 2018 presidential election was banned by authorities over his conviction by a Russian court for embezzlement, which bars him from running for office. He has been arrested and imprisoned several times during his political career.
Russia was forced to expel three diplomats from Poland, Sweden, and Germany due to their participation in illegal pro-opposition protests on 23 January.
The claim advances a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative concerning the ongoing protests in support of jailed opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
None of the three diplomats actually participated in the demonstrations. The foreign ministries of Poland, Sweden, and Germany have all confirmed that their presence at the protests was linked solely to the fulfillment of their diplomatic duties of monitoring protests. According to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, these duties include "[a]scertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State" (Article 3(d)).
