BEIJING, May 15. /TASS. Russia supports One Belt, One Road project and will participate actively in it, as it is important that integration in the Eurasian space is based on generally recognized rules and transparency, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The tasks formulated by the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping within the framework of the project are large-scale, but also difficult in implementation, Putin said at a roundtable on the second day of the Belt and Road Forum.
"All that is proposed follows the trend of modern development, and is extremely necessary and highly demanded. That is why Russia not only supports One Belt, One Road project, but will also actively participate in its implementation together with Chinese partners and, of course, with all other interested countries," Putin said.
According to him, creation of a belt of economic development and mutually beneficial trade between Asia and Europe seems to be an urgent and important initiative that takes into account the current trends in the world economy, and reflects the overall need for coordination in diverse integration processes in the Eurasian continent and in other regions of the world.
"It is important that all integration structures, both existing in Eurasia and newly formed, are based on universally recognized rules, that they take into account peculiarities of the national development models of the participating states, and are open and transparent," the Russian President noted.
Around 50 countries in Europe and Asia show interest in cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Putin said.
"EAEU’s external relations are confidently expanding. Around 50 countries from Europe, Asia, and Latin America are showing interest in cooperation with the Union," Putin said.
He noted that negotiations are under way on agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and China, on free trade with Israel, as well as agreements on launching consultations with Egypt, Iran, India, Serbia and Singapore.
"In general, we are talking about the so-called big Eurasian partnership. It includes establishing multilateral cooperation with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. That was meant to create a system for simplifying bilateral and multilateral agreements in such spheres like customs, sanitary and phytosanitary control, field cooperation and investments, protection of intellectual property rights," Putin said.
He noted that developing such partnership is a long and painstaking process, demanding different depth, speed and level of integration, but it is extremely important to carry out such work, since in the end it will allow to form a single economic space from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
According to Putin, Russia pays great attention to the development of the EAEU. In recent years, the association has made serious progress in shaping and strengthening the common market. Activities of the EAEU have made it possible to largely offset the impact of unfavorable economic conditions on the economies of the participating states, Putin added.