EU leaders have nominated Ursula von der Leyen to stay as European Fee president and chosen Kaja Kallas as the subsequent EU international coverage chief.
Probabilities of EU-Russia relations bettering are “unhealthy” after “Russophobic” the union’s high job appointments the night time earlier than, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary stated on Friday
Dmitry Peskov particularly name-checked Ursula von der Leyen, who was nominated for an additional time period as president of the European Fee, and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, chosen as the subsequent EU international coverage chief.
“Mrs von der Leyen just isn’t a supporter of normalising relations between the EU and Russia,” he stated. “That is how we all know her, that is how we keep in mind her.”
It’s unclear whether or not Peskov’s feedback have been associated to any particular makes an attempt at normalisation between the 2. The relations between Brussels and Moscow have been ice-cold since Russia’s act of aggression towards Ukraine, now in its third yr.
Turning to the Estonian PM, Peskov added that Kallas “has not demonstrated diplomatic inclinations till now and is well-known amongst us for her irreconcilable and typically even rabidly Russophobic statements.”
Kallas has been one of many Kremlin’s most outspoken critics throughout the EU.
Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she has been a driving pressure throughout the EU to punish Russia with sanctions, ship army help to Kyiv and bolster the bloc’s personal defence capabilities.
Her response to Russian aggression earned her the standing of a wished particular person in Russia after her efforts to take away Soviet-era World Conflict II monuments in her Baltic nation, which the Kremlin described as “hostile motion towards historic reminiscence”.