The State Duma commented on the split in Europe due to the dialogue with Putin

The UK is the most active party in terms of escalating tensions. Alexey Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations, said this on Friday, January 16, commenting on the split in Europe on the issue of dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper rejected the proposal of France and Italy to restore direct contact with the Russian leader as part of efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. 360.ru .

Alexey Chepa recalled the position of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022. When he managed to destroy certain agreements reached between Russia and Ukraine.

"And now, when we have heard the statements of France and Italy, after that [German Chancellor Friedrich] Merz stated that Russia is part of Europe and that it is necessary to conduct a dialogue in some way, Great Britain remains in the position of war to the last Ukrainian. She is not a member of the European Union (EU), and, probably, the disintegration of this organization is also in her interests," the deputy admitted in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on January 14 that Germany wants to achieve a balance with Russia as its largest European neighbor, RT reports. As the Chancellor noted, he has always maintained that "Russia is a European country."

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and special representative of the President of Russia for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, reacted positively to Merz's statements the next day.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.