ST. PETERSBURG, April 17. /ITAR-TASS/. The Action Program within the scope of Eurasian integration must be adjusted with due regard for Western sanctions. This has been proposed on Thursday by Ilyas Umakhanov, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council upper house of the Russian parliament, in a speech at the international forum “Eurasian Economic Perspective”.

“I believe that we must adjust the action program in the new conditions more effectively, with due regard for sanctions-related threats,” the senator pointed out.

He recalled that it was precisely integration processes that had caused the conflict in Ukraine which had been given obvious advantages at the first stage of accession to the Customs Union. “To the general public, the comparison of advantages between the Customs Union and the European Union did not look as favoring the Eurasian way. This was an obvious loss of the case in the informational field,” Umakhanov pointed out, calling for “drawing lessons from that mistake”.

“Society should not be provided with a sugary picture about the prospects of a Eurasian Union, leaving the field to criticism from our opponents. It is essential to explaining vividly all the merits and demerits of all integrations,” he emphasized. The senator pointed out a steady growth of reciprocal trade within the framework of Eurasian integration from 28.9% to 40% and an improvement of the pattern of trade volume between countries.