European Commission: we can't ensure EU security without Russia

It is essential for the European Union to consider improving relations with Russia, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a speech to EU ambassadors.

"It depends on both Russia and us," he noted. "But European security in the coming century cannot be ensured without Russia," Juncker stressed.

At the same time, the President of the European Commission pointed out  that the EU should "find more suitable rhetoric in relations with Russia without giving up its principles."

According to Juncker, Europeans should stop behaving as if they are masters of the entire world, as the EU's role on the world arena is declining and will continue to decline. "We feel and behave like the masters of the world, whereas we should act more modestly," TASS cited the European Commission President as saying.

He also drew attention to the fact that the share of the European economy and the proportion of the European population in the world are steadily declining, and there is nothing they can do about it.

In this regard, Juncker urged the EU countries to seek greater solidarity for the joint protection of their interests in the world.

The Director General of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies and Initiatives, an advisor to the Director General of the MIA ‘Russia Today’ Veronica Krasheninnikova, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that this Juncker's statement is important, because it was voiced at the meeting with the ambassadors.

In this regard, Veronica Krasheninnikova said that we can only welcome the European leaders' awareness of this fact and continue to contribute to the process of restoring cooperation between Russia and the EU. "The overwhelming part of Europe wants peace with Russia. One of the main factors that now this awareness has become public is Russia's successes in the fight against terrorism in Syria," the Director General of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies and Initiatives stressed.

The chief editor of the magazine 'Russia in Global Affairs', Fyodor Lukyanov, said that Europe is now inclined to seek rapprochement with Russia mainly because it seeks to become more independent of the United States. "It seems to me that the main factor is the behavior of the US: on the one hand, they instill deep uncertainty in Europeans, but on the other hand, they use political motives for quite obvious promotion of their own commercial interests. If this continues, the stimulus for the EU movement towards strategic autonomy will increase. But still we should not expect that they will start building a unified system with Russia," he warned.

Fedor Lukyanov added that Juncker's words do not necessarily express the position of more influential European forces. "He repeatedly stated that relations with Russia need to be changed, because their current state is absolutely unproductive - but his words had no effect whatsoever," the chief editor of the magazine 'Russia in Global Affairs' concluded.