Maria Zakharova. Photo: Mikhail Metzel / TASS
Russia has announced the launch of a new governmental unit, the Department of European Problems (DEP), which is to deal with relations with the European Union and NATO. This unit already existed within the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was previously known as the Department for Pan-European Cooperation (DOC). Amid changes in the geopolitical situation, it was renamed last week to a more provocative name, Politico reports.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told local media that the name change reflects “changes in geopolitical realities,” including “the obvious degradation of multilateral cooperation structures in Europe.”
Russia’s relations with Europe have been in a state of deep freeze since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The EU has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the Kremlin, confiscating Russian assets and pledging to support Ukraine.
In addition, Moscow announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe in March 2022, and in July this year suspended its participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
