Posted: 28.10.2021 18:47:00

Rapota: Europeans need to decide how to build a policy towards Russia and its allies

While attending the 14th Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona, Grigory Rapota, a member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, shared his vision of how to build a single economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok

“For the second decade of our meetings here, the issue of creating a single economic space on the territory between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean has been emerging. We always face a question of what should be done for this. As I see, our diplomats – taking into account the new realities and difficulties in the field of energy – need to become even more professionals in this field. Diplomacy will then be even more successful. Our diplomats have already become doctors and time has come for them to become energy and ecology specialists. I'm speaking of this seriously; this is really a necessary condition. The current realities will then be taken into account,” Mr. Rapota said.

He added that Europeans, Eurasian partners and the Russian Federation need to take ‘some homework to ensure the following’, “The Russian Federation, jointly with its partners, should bring actual content to the idea that lies in the Greater Eurasian Partnership concept. Europeans, in turn, need to finally decide how they are going to build a policy towards Russia. They should also take into account that it is necessary to build relations not only with the Russian Federation, but with its allies in the Eurasian Economic Union, the CSTO, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and other structures as well. That is, it would ultimately be necessary to recognise this reality and offer some form of interaction with the integration associations of Eurasia. In this case, we can reckon on success.”