The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said during a visit to Moscow on Friday that the bloc's ties with Russia were under "severe strain" following the arrest and imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

"Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment," Borrell said at the start of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, adding that "certainly our relations are under severe strain and the Navalny case is a low point".

His visit – the first to Russia by a top EU envoy since 2017 – has drawn criticism from some European capitals worried Moscow will spin it as evidence Brussels is keen to return to business as normal.

But Borrell has insisted he will deliver “clear messages” to the Kremlin despite it blanking Western calls to release President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic opponent, who was given a jail term of almost three years on Tuesday.

“It is when things are not going well that you must engage,” the former Spanish foreign minister said ahead of his trip.

In comments to Borrell at the start of Friday's talks, Lavrov said Russia was "ready to answer any questions".

"The main problem is a lack of normality in relations between Russia and the EU, the two largest players in Europe," said the Russian foreign minister. "It doesn't benefit anyone."

The EU’s ties with Russia have been in the doldrums since Moscow seized Crimea and began fuelling the war in Ukraine in 2014 – and there are concerns about its involvement in Belarus, Syria, Libya, central Africa and the Caucasus.

Borrell is eager to sound out his veteran counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the chances of cooperation on issues including enlisting Russia’s help in reviving the Iran nuclear deal and tackling climate change.

But it will be the jailing of Navalny and detention of thousands of demonstrators across Russia by baton-wielding security forces that dominates his visit.

The EU foreign policy chief is under no illusions that he can pressure Moscow into freeing Navalny – and the Kremlin has already warned him off.

“We hope that such nonsense as linking the prospects of Russia-EU relations with the resident of a detention centre will not happen,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week.

Moscow stands “ready to do everything” to develop ties with Brussels, but the Kremlin is “not ready to listen to advice” on the issue of Navalny, he said.

The authorities have poured cold water on attempts to set up a meeting with Putin’s nemesis and Borrell will settle for talks with civil society representatives. 

Back in Europe calls are growing from some nations for the EU to bulk up on sanctions it slapped on six Russian officials in October over the nerve agent poisoning that left Navalny fighting for his life in Germany.

EU foreign ministers last week agreed they would revisit the issue if he was not released

An EU statement said foreign ministers would discuss “possible further action” at a meeting on February 22.

Navalny himself called at the European Parliament last year – two months before his fateful return to Moscow – for sanctions to hit the oligarchs and money-men he accuses of protecting Putin’s wealth.

But European diplomats say that any measures, if they come, would likely just target officials and functionaries directly involved in the clampdown.

There have also been calls for Germany to halt the highly contentious Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to bring Russian gas to Europe.https://msn.com

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