Photo: Gennady Cherkasov
Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko, in an interview with journalists, recalled the famous “U-turn over the Atlantic”, which was made on March 24, 1999 by Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who was flying on an official visit to the United States, in protest against the start of the bombing of Yugoslavia.
Matvienko said that Europe should have done something similar in its foreign policy.
“With this reversal… Russia has finally made its choice in favor of an independent foreign policy aimed at protecting national interests and its sovereignty… It seems to me that Europe should make its turn over the Atlantic today”, – advised the speaker of the Federation Council.
However, she expressed some skepticism about whether there are now politicians in the region capable of such a step.
“There is a feeling that there is some kind of timelessness in the West now. There are no politicians who are absolutely independent,… who could make responsible decisions… I have no confidence that the current European politicians can take the blinders off their eyes, stop trailing the US,” Matvienko summed up.