MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. The Ukraine-EU association deal should take Russia’s interests into account, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said on Tuesday after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"It is obvious that the relationship between Russia and the EU is not living through their best period. The situation has to be resolved, including the Ukraine issue," the Spanish foreign minister said.
"We need to try to ensure that the Association Agreement takes Russia’s interests into account," he said.
Disputable issues between the European Union and Russia should be resolved under international law, Spanish Foreign Minister went on to say.
He expressed hope that disagreements between Moscow and Brussels would be resolved under international law. "We must remain allies, because we are neighbors", Spain’s top diplomat said.
Russia and Spain will soon resume the work of the interagency group to counter new threats and challenges, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following the talks with his Spanish counterpart.
EU member-countries should define the norms of behavior for officials in Brussels, Lavrov added.
"European Union members need, though building consensus, to define the norms of behavior for officials in Brussels", Lavrov said, noting that "so far EU bureaucracy is stepping up confrontation in relations between the 28-member-bloc and Russia".