Dutch Prime Minister Says Difficult To Have Open Dialogue With Russia Due To Lack Of Back Channels

Dutch Prime Minister Says Difficult to Have Open Dialogue With Russia Due to Lack of Back Channels

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday that it is difficult to have an open dialogue with Russia due to the lack of back channels of communication

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday that it is difficult to have an open dialogue with Russia due to the lack of back channels of communication.

"In those days [60s, 70, and 80s]... we had many back channel contacts between the US officials, the European officials and the communists in Moscow. At this moment, in my view, it's more difficult because those back channels are not there or are almost not there," Rutte said. "And we need them to influence each other... Therefore, I find it more difficult for all of us to influence what is happening there and to have an open dialogue as much as possible with Russia, and that's not good. And that means that need to make sure that we stand prepared for everything in terms of trade, in terms of our security.

"

Rutte also stressed the importance for NATO in this regard and stressed that it is a strategic interest for Washington to be involved in the alliance.

Relations between Russia and EU countries have been strained due to the Ukrainian crisis and the reunification of Crimea with Russia. The European Union, together with the United States, introduced sanctions against Russia, to which Russia responded with its own counter-sanctions. After five years, some EU countries have begun questioning the effectiveness of sanctions and started looking for different solutions to issues between Russia and the European Union.