Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to meet with the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell during the latter’s visit to Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday, TASS reports.
"There are no plans for a meeting between him and President Putin. Mr. Borrell is the counterpart of Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov and will hold talks with him," Peskov said.
The presidential spokesman pointed out that Russia considered Borrell’s visit to be highly important. Putin has recently expressed regret over the current state of relations between Moscow and Brussels, Peskov noted. "In fact, they remain suspended and it was not Russia that initiated the suspension. We definitely would like to unlock our comprehensive dialogue, particularly in order to openly discuss the existing disagreements, which are many," the Kremlin spokesman said.
When asked if Borrell’s wish to meet with convicted blogger Alexey Navalny would be granted, Peskov said that it wasn’t for the Kremlin to decide but to the Federal Penitentiary Service.
