Yesterday the press center of Vestnik Kavkaza held a press conference of the expert club “Vision of Eurasian Integration in the Context of Changing Geopolitical Conditions.” It was devoted to results of the fifth session of the club in Moscow. The head of the Berlek-Edinstvo geopolitical center, Radik Murzagaleev, told Vestnik Kavkaza about his view on Eurasian integration.
- What is your vision of Eurasian integration in the next 5 to 7 years?
- Eurasian integration is exactly the issue to which our project was dedicated. Polls were conducted during the work on this project, views on various events were exchanged. By location of the project we had to hold meetings not in one place, so the first stage we conducted in Ufa, the second one in Orenburg, a nearby region, the next meeting was held in Kazan, and we held the fourth event in Moscow. We just did this project and were engaged in conducting internal Eurasian integration as it is seen in the regions of Russia, and in some regions, although nearby. And experts see it, a vision of what they have in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. At the first stage we had representatives from Belarus. Without going into detail, in general we can say that we have the same vision. There are some features and nuances in every country. This is not surprising, it is clear that each country has its own interests. There is a choice of the best way, in my opinion, which will be acceptable to each of the parties involved in the process. I think everything will be clear in 5-7 years. This process is not in reverse, it will only grow. We all know that not so long ago Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the project. Our main task is to show the ordinary person how he will benefit from Eurasian integration. I'm not talking about business structures and major corporations.
- How can the economic crisis influence the development of Eurasian integration?
- Let’s look at the crisis from the point of view that this is an additional impetus to more effective work. We need import substitution indeed; it stimulates our domestic economy. Enterprises were depressed. Today we hope that encouraging our domestic production will bring positive results.
We are attracting young people. Initially, we oriented towards representatives of the academic community; but then the age limit began to decrease. There were school leavers in two of our events; they did participate in a dialogue and expressed their views. Our center pays attention to Central Asia; and it turns out that young people in these countries are really active. The main thing is that they have right vision and focus.
- How are relations between the EAEU and Azerbaijan?
- Let’s look at the personal relations between our leaders. Even an ordinary person can see that relations are at a very high level. Everybody knows that a lot depends on the leaders; so, I believe there will be good prospects. There are more than 1.5 million ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia; the number is big. They are an active part of the population; there are not simply individuals, but economically very active people. Natives from Azerbaijan are actively represented in business. Our Azerbaijani friends are following our formation of a united system of economic cooperation, how beneficial our contacts are. Soon we will see representatives of Azerbaijan at our events and visit them in their country.
