DISINFO: The West declared Russia as its strategic enemy
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
Tags:
Anti-Russian Russophobia Josep Borrell Alexei Navalny Destabilising Russia

DISINFO: The West declared Russia as its strategic enemy

SUMMARY

The West declared Russia and the Russian leadership as its strategic enemy a long time ago. And in order to defeat this enemy of yours, you need certain tools, including instruments of pressure. They act on the principle of claws, clamping on both sides at the same time: from the inside and from the outside, especially economically.

Internal pressure could have been observed on the example of the events in support of Navalny. And these events will continue until the elections to the State Duma, which are seen as a “window of destabilisation” of the situation in Russia.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the West waging war on Russia. The article also claims that Navalny is used for the political destabilisation of Russia. Both messages are disinformation.

The EU, its member states and most of the world community demand that Russia fulfils its obligations as a member of the UN, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and other international organisations, as well as Russia's own legislation. These demands cannot be dismissed as 'intentions to destabilise Russia' as it is claimed in the disinformation message.

At the same time, the West is trying to keep channels of communications and cooperation open with Russia. The EU and its member states have maintained a clear policy of reaching out to Russian society and youth, mainly through the Erasmus+ student exchange programme and other people to people contacts. The new US administration under President Biden has signalled a willingness to extend the New START Treaty. NATO's approach to Russia is defence and dialogue.

On behalf of the European Union, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP), Josep Borrell travelled to Moscow in February 2021 with the intention of pursuing a dialogue on core issues in the relations between the European Union and Russia. The Kremlin has answered the European Union’s invitation to dialogue with a shameless attempt to deflect attention from its violations of Russia’s international obligations and own laws. However, the EU will continue to engage with Russia when it is in the interest of the EU.

The attack on opposition leader Alexei Navalny on August 20, 2020, is not an anti-Russian campaign and is explained with a lot of evidence. Alexei Navalny fell ill during a flight and the plane had to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where doctors said he was in a coma and they were fighting to save his life. From Omsk, he was transferred to Berlin, where the German federal government said that toxicological tests provided “unequivocal evidence of a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group” in the blood samples of Navalny. Read more on how the further investigation evolved here.

Read similar cases claiming that The West is using Navalny to access Russia’s resources, that NATO’s statements about the need to confront Russia are caused by the crisis within the West, that the EU wants to make Russia a semi-colony to dictate its foreign and domestic policy, or that the West is trying to eliminate Russia as a geopolitical actor.

These articles also included claims that Ukraine does not need Donetsk nor Luhansk and that Ukraine sold itself to external control.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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