Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's answers to questions from the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin programme, November 12, 2023

Question: Regarding the acceleration [of Ukraine's progress towards EU membership], our source has told us that Kiev will be required to eliminate discrimination of minorities, but that the EU did not care about the Russian language.

Sergey Lavrov: When Ukraine adopted its “anti-minorities” legislation, it caused an uproar in the European Union. Ukraine amended it and said this would not affect EU languages. Judge for yourself.

At that time, we talked with Hungary and other EU members who had compatriots living in Ukraine and said we hoped they would not just fight for exemptions for their own cultures, but will defend all the principles of international law concerning national minorities. So far, we have not seen that happening. We will see.

Question: European leaders have stepped up their rhetoric insisting Ukraine should be admitted to the European Union as a matter of urgency. What does this indicate?

Sergey Lavrov: I have no clue. Most of these statements have been made by Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. They are preparing some recommendations, but they also admit that Ukraine has not fulfilled a significant part of the criteria. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba says the EU should forget all about those criteria and admit Ukraine without conditions.

I have difficulty wrapping my head around this. It looks like some game, or an extension of the EU’s old policy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, they suddenly dropped all criteria and took the decisions to admit the Baltic States into the European Union for purely political reasons. They never fully met the conditions, but political expediency prevailed. I doubt there is anything that can still surprise me.

And then there is Moldova, which has proven itself a democracy by removing an entire party from local elections and shutting down a dozen media outlets that tried to be objective but were accused of working for the opposition.

For me, the European Union has long been an entity I cannot understand. Countries that have been on the waiting list for decades (Serbia, Türkiye) are also asking questions why their accession is stalling or why others have begun accession talks (if the member states agree with the European Commission’s recommendations regarding Ukraine and Moldova). Ankara seems to have decided that it no longer wants to waste effort on a hopeless and useless business, and but Belgrade reaffirmed its intention. They asked a few days ago to remember them when Europe starts negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and admits them. They were told they had to join the anti-Russia sanctions first.

So much for the economic union, which was the EU’s initial format. That was how it was advertised and why it had an appeal for potential new members. Now it is a purely geopolitical business. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was told to give up Kosovo and support the anti-Russia sanctions, and then his bid might be considered.