The European European Union's top diplomat, Joseph Burrell, has said that he used ties with Russia on the pressure following the imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Burrell made the comments during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

It's the first visit by a senior U diplomats since 2017 beside Navalny.

The meeting's agenda also included the Iran nuclear deal, the situation in Ukraine and other human rights issues in Russia.

Yes, what the Russian foreign minister had to say after the meeting way proceed from the assumption that the U At this stage is an unreliable partner on.

I hope that the strategic review that takes place soon will focus on the key interests of the you.

On that these talks help make out contacts more constructive way are ready for it.

But from Moscow, I'm now joined by our correspondent Emily assuring Emily this quite strong, strong words there from the Russian foreign minister.

Is there a place for constructive dialogue at all?

Well, I think what we are seeing here, as you said yourself, is really a tense moment between the EU and Russia.

Ahead of this visit by Burrell, we heard the Kremlin spokesperson calling you Russian relations frozen.

And today we kind of saw the two sides clash in that press conference after their meeting and the main bone of contention at the moment, um seems to be Alexi Navalny, his prison sentence and the protests Um, that happened surrounding Alexi Navalny.

Andi, really?

We heard quite strong words from both sides today.

The Russian foreign minister was essentially accusing the you and other Western countries of meddling in Russia's affairs and of leveling hypocritical and unfounded accusations at Russia when it comes to kind of police violence and so on.

And Burrell from his side, um, with not in so many words, but essentially said that there is no rule of law in Russia.

So those air pretty harsh accusations.

But both sides also made it very clear that they certainly want to keep dialogue open, in part because of all those disagreements.

Um, not only over Noviny, um, you know, relations have been bad since the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia.

Um, but the Russia's foreign minister also seemed very much interested in that he talked about how the talks today had been open and they want to keep dialogue open, including about perhaps, uh, the sale of the Russian vaccine Sputnik, the Thio European countries.

Um, it seemed that the two, the two politicians did have some personal chemistry despite all the difficulties.

Emily.

One of the topics, of course.

What's the imprisonment of Alexi Navalny?

He's in court again today.

What is this new case about?

Well, this new case eyes one of actually several that are essentially still pending hanging over the opposition politicians head, Um, this one today is about accusations from a World War two veteran that he apparently that I've seen a LaValley apparently insulted him.

So accusations of slander ICSI navalny could be fined for that are given community service.

Um, now, the opposition politician himself says this is essentially, ah, political issue that, uh, the, uh, state is trying to present him as somehow unpatriotic for criticizing even World War Two veterans.

World War Two is certainly considered almost a sacred issue here, and a very political one, of course.

And I would say that the scheduling of this trialing, um that coincides with this visit by ah high, you diplomat is certainly provocative, especially considering the accusations that we've been hearing from the EU side towards Russia in the last few days and weeks.

D.

W is Emily Sherman in Moscow there for us.

Thank you, Emily.

Meanwhile, thousands of people have been arrested across Russia this weekend.

Protests against Navalny's imprisonment.

Around 500 of them are being held at a detention facility outside Moscow.

And outside that facility, their friends and relatives are waiting for news.

Our correspondent, Yuri Rossetto, went there and spoke with them, whose number?

15 in line, this woman asks.

She is one of the volunteers outside off the Sahara over detention facility at two hour drive from Moscow.

These people have been standing in the freezing cold since of the early morning.

They want to help their friends and relatives, people who were arrested during the protests.

Some of them are waiting for their sentence.

Some are already serving it way have collected warm things.

This is a sweater.

This is a blanket because we don't know if our friends in there have anything to cover up with.

There is socks, underwear, T shirts and warm gloves, just in case all of this is awful.

Even cry it.

A few times.

My friends are in there.

Who is that?

More than 7000 people have been arrested across Russia in the past 10 days.

Uh huh.

The police were particularly brutal during the last protests in Moscow and ST Petersburg on the weekend and after Alexey Navalny's sentence.

Sometimes security forces dragged people into police Busses for no reason, some of them who are random passersby.

Several cases are now being investigated, the police say.

Authorities argue that the protests will not authorized and therefore posed a security threat.

In reality, however, the police officers themselves have at times become a security threat to some innocent passersby.

Thes young people say they spent up to 12 hours at the courthouse after being detained.

Apparently, they had to sleep on the floor.

They were sentenced to several days in prison.

But since prison space seems to be running out, they have had to wait for hours in a police bus.

It's stuffy, one young man explains.

He says he spent seven hours in here.

So far, it's now afternoon in front off the soccer of a detention center.

The Q has barely moved.

The authorities are taking their time accepting the packages and are searching each one carefully.

Thing is also surreal.

We don't know what all this will lead to, but we want to continue fighting for our rights and our freedom thing.

Of course, we're also scared.

But many people want to keep fighting for their future on the streets thing.

More than 500 people are said to be in detention behind this fans and mawr young people.

I expected to arrive here from Moscow court soon, especially if the protests continued.