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Russia is interested in stability of European Union, says parliament speaker

Valentina Matviyenko recalled that the bloc is an important trade and political partner for Russia

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Russia is interested in the unity and stability of the European Union, which is an important trade and political partner to it, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Tuesday at a meeting with member of the European Parliament from Lithuania and Vice-Chair of the group Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Rolandas Paksas.

"We faced the accusations of Russia wishing to destabilize the situation in the European Union. We are interested in the unity of the European Union; it is an important trade and political partner to us," Matviyenko said.

She highlighted that if "chaos starts - God forbid that - then it will move on to negatively affect Russia." "Russia is not interested in it," the Federation Council speaker noted.

The trade turnover between Russia and the European Union grew by more than 20% in 2017 and after nine months of 2018 the growth was the same, she said.

"There is understanding of mutual interest in cooperation. No matter what they say, Russia has always been and will always remain part of Europe. It is in the interests of both Russia and the European states to restore cooperation and interaction," Matviyenko stressed.