Russia to Continue Trade Cooperation with Europe Regardless of Events in Ukraine

© RIA Novosti . Ekaterina Shtukina / Go to the mediabankDmitry Medvedev attends meeting of Russia's trade representatives to foreign countries
Dmitry Medvedev attends meeting of Russia's trade representatives to foreign countries - Sputnik International
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Russia intends to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with Europe, which will remain the country’s key trade partner, regardless of the events unfolding in Ukraine, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.

MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) — Russia intends to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with Europe, which will remain the country’s key trade partner, regardless of the events unfolding in Ukraine, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.

“It should be said straight out that the Ukrainian crisis has considerably made our relations with the European Union complicated. Sometimes these events are considered a watershed between Europe’s past and future, but not for our country. We are still set on mutually beneficial cooperation. The European Union will for a long time into the future remain our main trade partner," Medvedev said at a meeting with the heads of trade missions.

He noted that Europe to a large extent depends on the deliveries of energy resources from Russia and that Europe respects the reputation of its reliable deliverer, but also wants to be sure that its economic interests will be “provided for correctly."

In 2012, 75 percent of all European imports from Russia were energy.

The European Union is Russia's largest trading partner. According to Eurostat data, Russia is EU’s third largest trading partner, following the United States and China. Russia accounts for 7 percent of total imports and 12 percent of total exports in the EU.

Moreover, many European countries have strategic partnerships with large Russian companies and heavily invest in joint projects.

This Thursday, July 24, the European Union will present new sanctions against Moscow targeting Russia’s financial and defense sectors.

“We've asked the Commission and External Action Service to prepare proposals for action including an access to capital markets, defense, dual-use goods and sensitive technologies, including in the energy sector. These proposals will be presented on Thursday," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Tuesday.

Last week, the US Treasury introduced the so-called Sectoral Sanctions Identification List that affects companies and institutions in defense, energy and banking sectors of the Russian economy. The move followed the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this year, the United Stated and the European Union imposed targeted sanctions against a number of Russian officials and companies as a response to Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called the language of sanctions counterproductive and said these measures would have a boomerang effect on European economies.

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