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MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. The current situation in relations between Russia and the European Union is having adverse impacts on their economies, France’s former President (1974-1981) Valery Giscard d'Estaing told TASS on Thursday.
"It is necessary to put an end to the strains in relations between Russia and the European Union to stop living in an atmosphere of tension and criticism," he said. "It is counterproductive to live in such climate. It is bad for both Russia and Europe."
He said such situation was having negative impacts on the economic situation in both Russia and the European Union. "It triggers price growth in Russia. It hinders development of economic relations between the sides. We must clear away this situation," he said.
He said normalization in dialogue between Moscow and Brussels was linked with the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Thus, in his words, it would take time to elaborate all the details of the settlement and the Contact Group’s working subgroups were already doing this.
He said a possible way out of the conflict could be decentralization in Ukraine. "But it should be recognized, and this is most important. I think the Russians are ready to recognize it. The Ukrainians agree, and the Europeans do," Giscard d’Estaing said. "Once we have general accord on that matter and on the problem of security, sanctions could be lifted off Russia, which will turn a new page in relations between Europe and Russia."
Meanwhile, a schedule should be adopted for political matters to reach solutions to the above problems by the end of this year, he added.