CHISINAU (Sputnik) — Juncker dsaid he was looking to mend relations with Russia despite differences over Ukraine and Crimea, in an interview with a Romanian daily.
Speaking with the Adevarul newspaper, the chief of EU’s executive body admitted the bloc’s relations with Moscow were marred by mistrust but added they had not been entirely severed and needed to be repaired.
"I think we can do that," Juncker said. He stressed that channels of communication between Moscow and Brussels should remain open because the world needs more cooperation and not confrontation.
Ties between Europe and Russia soured in 2014 after Ukraine’s Russian-majority region of Crimea voted by landslide in a referendum to rejoin Russia, prompting sanctions from Brussels and accusations it was stoking unrest in southeastern Ukraine. Moscow denied any wrongdoing.
