Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko gave an interview to Rossiya Segodnya news agency, Foreign Ministry’s website reports.
He is quoted to say, “It is possible to assume that the dynamics of a comprehensive consolidation of Russia-EU trade, economic, cultural and political ties could have probably become irreversible if the principles under which we jointly signed had been translated from slogans into practical political reality and action. It is also clear that Russia-EU relations are not developing in a vacuum. The world is rapidly changing and polycentrism has become a reality. Drivers of economic growth and political influence are shifting towards the East. For this reason alone, it is hardly appropriate to speak about a return to the Greater Europe project. The agenda of forming a single Eurasian economic and humanitarian space from Lisbon to Vladivostok has been formulated, and this agenda is moving to the fore. But it is also true that Russia-EU relations will remain an axis in this space.”