MOSCOW, June 25, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - The Kremlin on Friday said it
"regretted" a decision by EU leaders to reject a proposal by Germany and
France to resume summit meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

   "President Putin was and remains interested in establishing working
relations between Moscow and Brussels," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
reporters.

   EU leaders said Friday they had rejected the proposal from German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron which came
after US President Joe Biden's meeting with Putin last week aimed at reducing
tensions.

   The 27-nation bloc's decision followed fierce resistance from member
states -- especially in Eastern Europe -- worried about Moscow's aggressions.

   Peskov said those countries -- which he named as Poland and the Baltics --
"often speak groundlessly" about a threat from Russia.

   The last summit between EU chiefs and Putin took place in early 2014 just
months before Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

   Kiev also opposed the idea of resuming summits, with foreign minister
Dmitry Kuleba saying Friday that Ukraine wanted to hear an explanation from
Paris and Berlin over their initiative.

   Moscow has been at loggerheads with a number of Western capitals after a
recent Russian troop build-up on Ukraine's borders and a series of espionage
scandals that have resulted in diplomatic expulsions.

   EU leaders said that they were "open to a selective engagement" with
Moscow in areas aligned with the bloc's interests, such as climate change,
health, the Iran nuclear deal and conflicts in Syria and Libya.

   Relations have also been strained between Moscow and Washington, reaching
their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.