Russia’s longtime ambassador to Brussels is slated to return to Moscow with EU-Russia relations at a nadir and no end in sight to the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine.
Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s permanent representative to the EU, plans to leave “within the next few weeks,” a spokesman for the Russian embassy said in an email. Chizhov first addressed his possible departure in an interview with the Russian daily Izvestia.
Chizhov has been nominated to serve in the Russian parliament’s upper house ahead of the election scheduled for Sunday. Though he did not directly confirm concrete plans to Izvestia, Chizhov called his 17 years in his current role a “respectable period of time.”
He added, “And as for the future — we’ll see. After all, we are talking about issues related to other structures,” said Chizhov.
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According to Izvestia, the Central Election Commission of Karelia listed the 68-year-old Chizhov last month as a nominee to represent the region in the Federal Council. Karelia lies on the border with Finland — a country Chizhov warned would become a “backwater of NATO” if it joins the alliance.
Chizhov has been devoted to European affairs even before his 2005 arrival in Brussels, with stints at Russian embassies in Cyprus and Greece, an OSCE posting in Vienna, and various roles related to Europe and U.K. policy at the foreign ministry.
Speaking to POLITICO in May, Chizhov acknowledged that EU-Russian relations had hit their “lowest point since their inception 30 years ago.” But he dismissed any suggestion that his denial of facts on the ground in Ukraine had tarnished his credibility among Western governments, and said he was continuing to hold diplomatic Zoom calls and host regular lunches at the embassy.
Chizhov said in May that he could be called back to Moscow any time. “Psychologically,” Chizhov said he was prepared for “any development.”
Zoya Sheftalovich contributed reporting.
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