European leaders, who want to isolate Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin, don't get it. Instead of "demonizing" Moscow and trying to "drive it into a corner," they should be investing considerable effort into forging close ties with Russia, German website Neopresse noted.

Their current policies are driving Moscow closer to Beijing, which the media outlet described as a "disastrous" development for the West.

Indeed, German businesses have long urged their government to lift anti-Russian sanctions for that very reason. They are concerned that their Russian partners have already found new business partners in Asia and in many cases this shift could be permanent.

Relations between Europe and Russia have been deteriorating for decades, Neopresse observed, adding that at the same time the bloc has become increasingly autocratic. It would not have happened, if other people were making decisions in the EU.

"When responsible and strong-minded statesmen, who cared for the well-being of people (like former German Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Willy Brandt), were in power, Russia was recognized as an equal partner," the media outlet noted.

European and Soviet leaders of that era, according to the publication, maintained more or less good personal contacts and were intent on cooperating. Much has changed since then.

At the moment the EU is "conducting a systematic propaganda campaign against Russia and manipulating the 'free' media (which in reality are not free, objective or independent)," Neopresse pointed out.