(VOVworld) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has called on the West to treat Russia properly and address it as an equal.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

Juncker also criticized US President Barack Obama for labeling Moscow a mere regional power.

Since last year, the European Union has imposed sanctions on Russia as a result of its annexation of Crimea and the conflict in the eastern Ukraine.

Relations between Russia and the West have become tenser due to Russia's military intervention in Syria, accusing Moscow of seeking to prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad more than tackling the Islamic State jihadists operating there.