EU Resolutions Against Russia, Turkey Bring Moscow, Ankara Closer Together

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Recent EU resolutions against Russia and Turkey are “short-sighted” as they bring Moscow and Ankara closer together, Alexei Pushkov, a member of Russia's Federation Council, said Thursday.

Earlier in the day, members of the European Parliament voted in favor of freezing EU accession talks with Turkey. On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution on countering Russian media outlets, such as the Sputnik news agency and the RT broadcaster.

“The European Parliament regularly adopts resolutions against countries, important for the European Union – Russia and Turkey. [This is] short-sighted: there is no better way to bring Moscow and Ankara closer together,” Pushkov posted on his Twitter account.

​The resolution said that Sputnik and RT posed a danger to European unity and called for extra European Commission funding for counter-propaganda projects.

As many as 304 voted in favor the document, 179 voted against and 208 abstained. With a total of 691 officials taking part in the vote, less than half supported the resolution, which draws parallel between Russian media and the propaganda disseminated by the Islamic State, a jihadist group outlawed in Russia.

Sputnik responded by calling the move a direct violation of media freedom and human rights, while Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the matter by pointing out that the document indicates a degradation of democracy in the West. Praising Sputnik and RT for their work, the president expressed hope that real media restrictions would not follow.