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One Belt One Road, EAEU projects not contradicting each other, says senior diplomat

It was mentioned that the project were considered intercomplementary

MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. The One Belt One Road initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are not competing projects, being considered as intercomplementary, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said, speaking at the presentation of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s report entitled ‘Space Without Borders: Russia and Its Neighbors’ on Monday.

"We see no contradiction between the two [projects] — One Belt One Road and the Eurasian Economic Union. We consider them intercomplementary, not competing projects," he said.

"The Chinese project [One Belt One Road] is aimed at the creation of some infrastructure elements in Central Asia, and not only in Central Asia, but on the whole route between China and Europe," Rudenko noted, adding that the developed infrastructure would create more favorable investment climate, which the EAEU particularly deals with.

"We welcome China’s interest in our union and the [existing] agreements <...> demonstrate that, indeed, the better the economic situation in Central Asia is, the better the situation will be for all, including Russia," he concluded.

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