ST. PETERSBURG, June 6./TASS/. Eurasia, as a common space, could play bigger role in the global economy of the future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said at the session titled "The Greater Eurasian Partnership as a New Pole of Growth: Potential and Prospects" at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"Ruptures, contradictions, failures, violations of rules, violations of international law exist in relation to our countries on the part of the West, as well as colonial practices of domination and subjugation," Pankin said. "Under the guise of words, certain norms, new rules are being forged to more freely ensure the dominance in finance, in flows, which are already 80 years old after the end of World War II."

"But along with these processes, we see other processes when Eurasia as a single continent, a seamless space, connected and interconnected, a continent that boasts not only oldest civilizations, but also a huge amount of quality labor force, knowledge, experience, technology, connected by transport and energy corridors, food chains, could in the future play a really more serious role in the world economy as a single space," the senior diplomat said.

"When we talk about the Greater Eurasian space, which we consider a flagship project, the idea of our President Vladimir Putin, we by no means see it as an anti-project," he pointed out.

According to him, it is not aimed against anyone, it’s just an alternative that allows Eurasian countries to "realize their potential, their opportunities in the future, the tasks and obstacles that will have to be overcome."

"Of course, we are talking about a purely peaceful field of economic, investment, technological, cultural and humanitarian interaction," the diplomat said. "It seems that in Asia, in the Asian part of Eurasia, we have no blocks, confrontation or serious dividing lines. Of course, any neighbors have issues to be addressed, but they are not insurmountable for joining efforts. This is a unifying agenda, not a dividing one," he added.

"We are not going to isolate ourselves from the world, everyone will continue to trade with the rest of the world, carry out financial, investment and other interaction," Pankin said. "But uniting Eurasia in solving problems and tasks seems important to us. <...> We never leave out of this game any European partners," he stressed.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum takes place on June 5-8. This year’s theme is "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.