Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative trying to obfuscate the legitimate reactions to Russia's aggressive actions with claims of Russophobia.
At the end of the Cold War, Russia became a member of several European and international organisations. Since 1997, the EU's political and economic relations with Russia have been based on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Russia was the EU's fourth largest trading partner and the EU was Russia's biggest trading partner.
The Russian Federation became the 39th Member State of the Council of Europe in 1996, and joined the WTO in 2012; EU-Russia trade relations are framed by WTO rules. NATO also consistently worked to build a cooperative relationship with Russia.
Even after the Russo-Georgian war in 2008, the US, the EU and most European states did not question the above-mentioned assumptions about Russia and continued to view Russia not as a security problem but as a key partner. Germany continued its strategic partnership policy towards Russia, and France and Italy pursued similar strategies based on increasing cooperation with Moscow.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea and destabilisation of Eastern Ukraine in 2014 was viewed in Europe and US as violating the basic rules of the post-Cold War European order, especially the rule that borders are inviolable. The EU and many member states reassessed their “strategic partnership” policies towards Russia and began to view Russia as a serious challenge to the European security order. At the same time, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe suspended voting rights of the Russian delegation.
Early in 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution assessing the current state of EU-Russia political relations. The resolution stated that "Closer relations will only be possible if Russia fully implements the so-called Minsk agreements to end the war in eastern Ukraine and starts respecting international law”.
In June 2019 PACE has voted to ratify the credentials of the Russian delegation, declaring that it remained “committed to dialogue as a means of reaching lasting solutions”. However, in return the Assembly called on Russia to fulfil a series of recent Assembly recommendations, citing among other things the release of Ukrainian sailors, co-operation on bringing to justice those responsible for downing Flight MH17, etc.
