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Lavrov plans to discuss Russian-EU relations with Association of European Businesses

The Association of European Businesses brings together more than 500 companies and banks from the EU countries
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Sergei Bobylev/TASS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will address the Association of European Businesses on Tuesday and answer questions related to the development of relations between Russia and the European Union. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, meetings of this format are held on a regular basis and have already become a tradition.

"This year's event will be devoted to the current state of relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union and the prospects for their development," the Ministry said.

The Association of European Businesses brings together more than 500 companies and banks from the EU countries, the European Free Trade Association, and other states that operate in Russia.

The Russian side has repeatedly noted that, despite a difficult period in relations, Moscow and Brussels remain the largest trading partners for each other. The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier drew attention to the fact that the European Union accounts for 45% of Russia's foreign trade turnover, while Russia is the fourth most important trade counterpart of the EU. At the same time, due to a number of factors, including decline of energy prices and the introduction of restrictive measures, over the past three years bilateral trade decreased more than halved.