The EP stated the positive attitude of many Europeans towards Russia
Many residents of European countries maintain a positive attitude towards Russia, despite the existing political differences. This was stated on June 4 by Fernand Kartheiser, a member of the European Parliament (EP) from Luxembourg, in the Izvestia studio at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026).
"Many people in Europe are not Russophobes at all. If you look at the population of many countries, my country too, in many European countries — in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France — people love Russia," he said.
According to Kartheiser, the attitude of Europeans towards Russia cannot be assessed solely through the prism of the official policy of individual states. He noted that in many countries of the European Union (EU) there is still sympathy for the Russian people.
The MEP also recalled the period of active economic cooperation between Russia and the EU. According to him, the economies of the parties in many ways "complemented each other."
"Our economies complement each other. In the past, in 1997, I still remember those days, the European Union was Russia's first trading partner, and Russia was the third trading part of the European Union," Kartheiser said.
He added that at that time there was a partnership agreement between Russia and the EU, which created the basis for broad cooperation. According to Kartheiser, this experience shows that a constructive dialogue between Moscow and European countries remains possible.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia on May 27 that the moment would come in the future to discuss Europe's security architecture, and it would be necessary to talk about it with the Europeans. He added that Europe "understands for itself" the need for dialogue with Russia, but "it has only now begun to mature." Peskov also stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations with Europe.
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