Kremlin says outlook for EU-Russia ties is bad after von der Leyen, Kallas nominations

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo walk to a press conference during a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium June 28, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that the outlook for EU-Russia ties was bad after EU leaders nominated Ursula von der Leyen for another term as European Commission president and picked Estonia's Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the bloc's decision to nominate Germany's von der Leyen for a second five-year term would not change anything.

"Mrs von der Leyen is not in favour of normalising relations between the EU and Russia. That's how we know her, that's how we remember her. Nothing changes in this respect," said Peskov.

Though sometimes riven by divisions, the EU has mobilised to try to help Kyiv against Russia financially and militarily since President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Brussels has also imposed multiple packages of sanctions on Moscow to try to force it to withdraw its forces.

Commenting on the choice of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for EU foreign policy chief, Peskov said she was known for her anti-Russian rhetoric.

"Mrs Kallas has not demonstrated any diplomatic inclinations so far either, and is well known in our country for her absolutely intransigent and sometimes even openly anti-Russian statements," he said.

"Therefore, we do not think that European diplomacy will contribute in any way to the normalisation of relations. The prospects, in terms of relations between Moscow and Brussels, are bad."

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn)