Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU Chizhov leaves his post

Permanent Representative of Russia to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov leaves his post after 17 years of work, reported “RIA News”.

“I am leaving soon, my business trip has come to an end. It is no longer comfortable for me to act as a living monument to the strategic partnership between Russia and the EU,” he said. Chizhov did not name a successor, but said that during his farewell visits he “warned the Europeans that it is much easier to burn bridges than to rebuild them later.”

The diplomat also said that the EU countries have forgotten about their “strategic autonomy” and are turning into an “economic appendage of NATO”, deliberately abandoning their independence. Chizhov added that relations between Russia and the EU will never be the same as before.

On July 25, from the documents submitted to the CEC of Karelia by the governor of the republic Oleg Parfenchikov, it became knownthat he proposed to appoint Chizhov as a senator from the region, along with the incumbent senator Alexander Rakitin and the chief physician of the City Children’s Clinic No. 1, Nadezhda Dreyzis.

Vladimir Chizhov has served as Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU since 2005. Previously, he worked at the Soviet Embassy in Greece, the Russian Embassy in Cyprus, Deputy Head of the Russian Delegation to the OSCE and High Representative for the Peace Settlement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Chizhov also held various positions in the Russian Foreign Ministry related to Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Cyprus and the Balkans.