JURMALA (Latvia), October 22. /TASS/. Russia and the European Union (EU) should establish a permanent strategic planning committee which would devise responses to emerging crises, Igor Ivanov, President of the Russian Council on International Affairs and former foreign minister, said.

"The committee will be tasked with devising long-term proposals for state leadership, as well as with monitoring their implementation in case of adoption," Ivanov told the Baltic Forum conference in Latvia’s Jurmala.

Such structures as EU and NATO are not in line with modern realities, he added. "Of course, it’s not Russia’s business to interfere into the fate of EU and NATO, it is not our business to advise the West on how to develop these organizations, but it is absolutely obvious that these structures in their current form are not in line with modern realities and cannot serve as the basis for building a stable, safe and prosperous Europe," the former foreign minister noted.

Russia is interested in a stable and prosperous Europe, Ivanov continued. "There is an opinion that Moscow welcomes every new problem that Europe faces. I have to assure you that it is not the case. Moscow is objectively interested in having stable, predictable and reliable partners in the West," he said.