UN Notebook

Mogherini and Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in New York at the end of September for the United General Assembly, and the ensuing discussions among the world’s leaders on matters relating to ISIS/ISIL and climate change policy. He was asked if with the appointment of Italy’s Federica Mogherini as the European Union foreign policy chief an improvement in relations between Brussels and Moscow could be expected, especially in light of the objections raised against her candidacy, by those who believe her to be too ‘pro-Russia’.

Lavrov, who in the 1990s served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, answered in his usual convoluted yet charming manner: “If I’ve understood the question, pro-Russian politicians have no chance of carving out a career for themselves in Europe, and since Federica Mogherini was appointed this means she cannot be considered pro-Russian. Does any of this make sense? This is a distorted view of what is going on. We have many friends in Europe. Besides Italy, France and Germany, there are many countries with which we enjoy good relations in Europe and condemning them by labelling them pro-Russian makes no sense.”

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