MOSCOW, April 24 (Itar-Tass) — Russia is ready to develop cooperation both with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and with integration associations within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) based on its own national interests, Russian outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.
“Modernization requires a closer cooperation with other countries,” he said at an expanded meeting of the State Council. “We need access to material, technological and intellectual resources of its partners, and we are going to get it. We are not afraid to share our possibilities either. I don’t think there is anything to be ashamed of, when we adopt economic or political experience from our partners and concurrently competitors.”
“We should learn to live in a free way, but combine freedom and responsibility,” he said.
He described the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus as a “great achievement.” “This is the first supranational association Russia is a member of,” he noted. “It is necessary to go further ahead at an as fast a pace as is acceptable for all parties concerned.”
He also expressed the hope that the “Eurasian Union will soon become an authoritative player on the global market.”
“Moreover, we are ready for closer cooperation with the European Union, with the Asia-Pacific region, with BRICS countries, but the partners should also demonstrate openness and trust,” Medvedev said. “We shall not make any unilateral steps, two-way movement is needed here.”
“It in no way means that Russia would waive its sovereignty, efforts to protect it, and a reliable state security system,” he stressed.