It is premature to forecast course of Russia-EU relations under Malta's EU Council presidency - Russian Envoy Chizhov
BRUSSELS. Jan 3 (Interfax) - The office of the Russian permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels has established good working contact with the Maltese presidency of the EU Council, Russian Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said in an interview with Interfax.
"I am certain that such contact will be built at the level of foreign ministers as well," he said.
"However, I will not forecast whether the Maltese presidency or the EU as a whole will use these six months in order not to miss the next chance to normalize relations with Russia. We shall see," Chizhov said.
It is the first time Malta has assumed the EU Council presidency, he said.
"This country is not large, to put it mildly. It joined the European Union not so long ago - it is in its 13th year [of membership]. It is quite natural that they are trying not to set expectations from the upcoming six months too high. It is quite explainable," he said.
"Nevertheless, their six-month period will see plenty of serious events the meaning of which will go beyond the framework of their presidency. I mean, first, the already announced start of negotiations with Great Britain on Brexit. Albeit not large, Malta is a country that nonetheless has quite a vast record of communication with Britons because it was a British colony at some point in the lifespan of the current generation," Chizhov said.
"Second, the Maltese presidency will also come across another difficult issue, namely a fitting-in of EU-U.S. relations after the new administration comes to power in the United States," Chizhov said.
The full version of Chizhov's interview will be published on the http://www.interfax.ru/ website.