BRUSSELS
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday that Europe's doors for cooperation are "always open" to Russia as the bloc launched a consultation on its relations with neighboring countries.
"It is clear now that the door for European cooperation is always open also for Russia," Mogherini told a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
"There is no European policy that is meant to be in confrontation with anyone," Mogherini added.
Mogherini’s comments came after several EU officials condemned Russia on Tuesday for banning Polish and Latvian officials from entering the country to attend the funeral of murdered government critic Boris Nemtsov.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz said the bans were "high affront" and that he would intervene with Russian authorities "in the strongest terms and demand an official explanation."
- 'Responsible behavior'
Mogherini said there are still violations of the cease-fire, backed by Russia in February, over fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Mogherini said: "We hope Russia will go back to responsible behavior starting from implementation of Minsk agreement."
"There are still violations of that cease-fire and withdrawal of heavy artillery weapons has not been directly [seen] by OSCE observers," Mogherini said.
