Belgian PM condemned over call to repair relations with Russia to ease energy costs

Bart De Wever claimed other European leaders agreed with him in private ‘but no one dares say it out loud. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has been criticised for calling for the normalisation of relations with Russia to re-establish cheap energy supplies.

The Flemish nationalist leader’s judgment was questioned in Belgium and beyond after he said on Saturday that the EU needed to make a deal with Russia. “We are losing on all fronts, we must end the conflict in Europe’s interest,” he told the Belgian newspaper L’Echo.