Russia launches Department of European Problems to deal with EU

Russia has a new governmental department to deal with the EU and NATO: The Department of European Problems.

The unit already existed within Russia’s foreign ministry, but was previously known as the Department of Pan-European Cooperation (DOC) before it was last week renamed the much spicier Department of European Problems (DEP), according to Russian media.

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told local media the name change reflected “changes in geopolitical realities,” including the “obvious degradation of multilateral cooperation structures in Europe.”

Russia’s relations with Europe have been in a deep freeze since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The EU imposed sweeping sanctions on the Kremlin, confiscating Russian assets and pledging support for Ukraine.

Moscow announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe in March 2022, and in July this year suspended its participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.