Dear EMS Council,

We wholeheartedly support the EMS' strong condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, we propose to reconsider its recommendation to freeze academic cooperation with state institutions and business enterprises in Russia and refrain from starting new ones, see

https://euromathsoc.org/news/statement:-european-mathematical-society-solidarity-with-partners-in-ukraine---consequences-for-the-mathematical-community-56

For comparison, a similar statement from the AMS approved unanimously by its council contains no such recommendation:

https://www.ams.org/news?news_id=6990

There are many Russian mathematicians who oppose the war in Ukraine. This view is especially prevalent among those who collaborate with mathematicians in Europe and the US. In fact, a number of them have bravely protested the aggression. But now, as oppression of dissent in Russia is getting more and more brutal by the hour, these mathematicians are finding themselves in a very precarious position. Some of them have already been persecuted and imprisoned. Besides, they've lost funding due to sanctions. Mathematicians in Russia work at state institutions simply because that's the only choice, and we believe collaborations with them should continue. However, even individual collaborations formally entail collaboration with employers, hence fall under the above recommendation. We therefore believe that this recommendation can only make their plight worse without being effective at stopping the war.