2021: Another Sad Year for EU-Russia Relations Navalny’s return to Russia has created a prominent link between the EU and Russian domestic politics which neither side will be able to ignore in the future. Russian Foreign Ministry / TASS When EU High Representative Josep Borrell visited Moscow at the beginning of February, the Russian leadership had a choice: it could have accepted Borrell’s offer of dialogue (which he had made despite fierce criticism at home) and taken a more conciliatory tone. Instead, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opted to offend his interlocutor. Accordingly, EU-Russia relations got off to a terrible start to 2021, while still suffering from the degradation and shocks of the past year.