Russia ties at ‘low point’
In Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell repeated European calls for Navalny's release and an investigation into his poisoning last year.
"Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment," Borrell told Lavrov, adding that EU-Russia ties are "under severe strain and the Navalny case is a low point."
Hours after his comment, Moscow said it was expelling diplomats from Poland, Germany and Sweden for participating in unsanctioned demonstrations last month in support of 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner Navalny.
Borrell "strongly condemned" the action, a spokesman said, while Sweden branded it "completely unfounded".
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that an unspecified number of diplomats from the three EU countries took part in "illegal demonstrations" on January 23 and had been declared persona non grata.
Earlier, Borrell said there were no immediate plans for new European sanctions and both he and Lavrov stressed that the two sides would continue to work together on issues including the coronavirus pandemic.
Borrell's visit was the first to Russia by a senior EU envoy since 2017, following years of deteriorating relations sparked by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
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