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European business circles tired of sanctions, confrontation, says Russian top diplomat

According to Sergey Lavrov, they are also "interested in resuming a full-fledged cooperation"

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Business circles of the European Union (EU) are tired of sanctions and confrontation, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said addressing representatives of the Association of European Businesses (AEB) on Thursday, adding that they are ready to revive cooperation with Moscow.

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Trade turnover between Russia and EU continues to grow, says Lavrov

"Despite the challenges, which do exist, no one makes secret of it, there is a feeling that business circles are tired of sanctions, of confrontation, and are interested in resuming a full-fledged cooperation," he said, adding that Russia’s leadership has had a number of meetings with representatives of European businesses recently.

"We support that sentiment, it has already yielded practical results, particularly, the trade turnover between Russia and the European Union has been growing for the second year in a row as it gained 20% last year nearing $300 bln. That is surely a substantial decrease from the record of 2013 amounting to over $400 bln, nevertheless, the trend of reviving trade turnover growth is evident," he noted.

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Sergey Lavrov Sanctions

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