Russia says it could sever ties with the EU if it continues with sanctions over the jailing of Alexei Navalny. The EU's top diplomat says Russia wants to break away and divide the West.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Russia was prepared to break off relations with the European Union if it continued with planned sanctions.

Sergey was asked: "Are we heading towards a break with the EU?" in a snippet of an interview by the Solovyov-life program published on its Telegram channel and shared by the Foreign Ministry. 

He responded that Russia was ready to do so in the event that sanctions are imposed in areas that create risks for Russia's economy.

"We proceed from the fact that we're ready [for that]. In the event that we again see sanctions imposed in some sectors that create risks for our economy, including in the most sensitive spheres," Lavrov said.

"We don't want to isolate ourselves from global life, but we have to be ready for that. If you want peace then prepare for war," he said.

The full interview is due to be released later on Friday.

In a separate interview published in the Izvestia newspaper earlier on Friday, Russian permanent representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said Russia-EU talks would continue and that Borrell's Moscow trip was a positive sign of a willingness to engage.

His comments came after the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday that he believed that Russia wanted to break away from Europe and divide the West.

"The Russian government is going down a worrisome authoritarian route," said Borrell. "There seems to be almost no room for the development of democratic alternatives ... they are merciless in stifling any such attempts," he told the European Parliament. He said the Kremlin saw democracy as an "existential threat."

Borrell's remarks, backed up by European Council President Charles Michel, point towards the EU hardening its stance towards Moscow after years of seeking better ties.

New sanctions coming

The EU has hinted at imposing new sanctions against Moscow  over the detention of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a crackdown on protesters in Russia.

According to some reports, the EU is planning to impose travel bans and asset freezes on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, after France and Germany gave the go-ahead.

Deutsche Welle

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