Relations between Russia and Europe are undergoing a renaissance, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said at a meeting with representatives of the Association of European Businesses (AEB).
He noted that trade and investment demonstrating an upward trend, while Russian companies implementing large projects in Europe.
"The main goal is not to spoil it, but to support the positive trends that exist, maintain cooperation with businesses that work in Russia and with Russia," the minister stressed.
Oreshkin said that percentage-wise for the second year in a row mutual trade has seen soaring growth. "If we look at investment dynamics, we will see that now, for example, Russian companies in Europe are implementing a whole set of major investment projects," TASS cited him as saying.
He named the Nord Stream 2 project and construction of nuclear power plants in Hungary and Finland, adding that "cross-border cooperation projects between Russia and the European Union are actively being developed".
The Russian Economic Development Minister noted that as far as Europe is concerned, relations with Russia are now one of the most significant drivers of economic growth.
The professor at the department of the stock market and investments at the Higher School of Economics, Alexander Abramov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that economic renaissance in Russia-Europe relations is encouraged by the escalation of tension in relations with U.S. "Russia is trying to more actively develop economic relations with European countries. At the same time, I would not say that there are any radical changes in our business. Certain areas have become a bit more active, but the old problems have not gone away," he explained.
Among the incentives, Alexander Abramov named the U.S. financial sanctions. "Talks are under way to transfer oil and gas settlements with Europe to the euro. In this case, it stimulates some economic development, especially since Europe is Russia's main economic partner. But still it is too early to call it a renaissance," the professor at the department of the stock market and investments at the Higher School of Economics stressed.
Professor of the RANEPA faculty of Finance, Money Circulation and Credit, Yuri Yudenkov, explained the increasing trade turnover between Russia and Europe with low base effects. "In 2014, our economic relations sharply cooled and remained at a very low level in 2015-2016, but the last two years showed Europe’s need for Russia and vice versa. This, by the way, is clearly seen from the reaction of America, which sees Russia as its main competitor in the European commodity market for gas, oil and other goods. That is, it’s not about renaissance, but rather about the vital need of Russia and Europe in each other," he explained.
"Unfortunately, so far our contacts with Europe depend very much on the will of the President and the U.S. Congress. America applies sanctions against any project it deems necessary. Therefore, due to the growth trend in labor productivity, the global turnover increases, and the fact that Russia has increased trade with Europe is an objective thing - if there were no sanctions, it would have increased many times," Yuri Yudenkov concluded.
