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| - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday the bloc needs to "push back, constrain and engage" Moscow, as the leaders of Russia and the US met in Geneva. "We believe that a renewed partnership, allowing us to realise the full potential of a close cooperation with Russia is a distant prospect and the EU, therefore, needs to be realistic and prepare for a further downturn of our relation with Russia," Borrell said. He said Brussels' approach must now be to "push back, constrain and engage with" Moscow as he presented a new report detailing a strategy to build a "more predictable and stable relationship" with the Kremlin. Ties between Russia and the 27-nation union have hit a fresh low after the EU imposed sanctions on Moscow over the arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the Russian authorities hit back by targeting officials in Brussels. EU leaders -- who will debate the report at a summit next week -- are looking to fashion a common approach to their giant eastern neighbour despite splits between some members over how to handle Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Time and again, the European Union has demonstrated unity despite attempts by Russia to divide us, and this unity remains our biggest asset and needs to be even more robust," Borrell said. Member states, he said, "will have to understand that they cannot go one-by-one having bilateral deals with Russia". The unveiling of the EU's strategy on Russia came as US President Joe Biden sat down with Putin for a hotly-anticipated meeting in Switzerland. Biden -- who jetted to meet his Russian counterpart after meetings with EU partners and NATO allies in Brussels -- has vowed to lay down "red lines" to Putin to halt Moscow's aggressive behaviour. The EU report said the bloc would continue to confront Russia over human rights abuses at home and its meddling abroad, including in neighbours such as Ukraine. "The EU will continue to respond to the Russian government's malicious actions, including hybrid threats, in an appropriate manner, and will aim at limiting the resources the Russian government can draw on to carry out its disruptive foreign policy," a statement said. To constrain Moscow the bloc needs to boost its resilience and look to "make better use of the leverage provided by our energy transition" as the EU moves to wean itself off the fossil fuels Russia relies on to keep its economy going, it argued. But it also laid out areas -- from climate change to the Iran nuclear deal -- where the EU would seek to work together with Moscow. "The EU will further people-to-people contacts, which could include more visa facilitation for certain Russian citizens, and will also enhance its support to Russian civil society and human rights defenders," it said. del/dc/lc
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