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Real steps needed to make Russia-EU relations more constructive — Russian lawmaker

The head of the international committee of Russia’s Federation Council noted that reckless advocates of further escalation have grown stronger in Brussels

MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Real steps are needed to make relations between Russia and the European Union more constructive and predictable, Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee of Russia’s Federation Council, or upper parliament house, said on Friday at an online meeting with EU Ambassador to Russia Markus Ederer.

"The burden of problems in relations with the European Union has visibly increased. Reckless advocates of further escalation have grown stronger in Brussels. I am convinced that it is high time to think about real steps to make our relations more predictable and constructive," he said

He cited the June 16 summit of the Russian and US president as an example. In his words, the summit’s "key result is an open door to joint work on difficult problems." "It concerns both strategic issues and the bilateral agenda. Strangely, Brussels has either failed to hear this signal or did not want to hear it. Trust building is a daring task requiring serious resolve. You must understand it," Karasin said.

As a negative example, he cited the results of the latest session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which "was abundant in customary accusations against Russia and cynical breaches of the assembly’s procedural rules concerning voting on draft documents." "The Russian delegation was forced to walk out of the hall and switch off the videoconference. The Council of Europe’s recent package of conclusions about Russia was an unpleasant surprise too," he added.

According to the Federation Council press service, the sides also discussed issues of the Ukrainian crisis and international settlement efforts.

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