Hungary calls for restoring EU-Russia economic cooperation

Restoring economic cooperation with Russia is “clearly in the economic interests of Europe” in light of an “emerging global trade war”, Hungary’s foreign minister told MTI by phone from Dubai on Monday.

Péter Szijjártó is in Dubai to attend the annual session of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council.

Szijjártó pointed to earlier European plans to create a trading area “from Lisbon to Vladivostok” and suggested that those plans should be implemented.

“But we must see that we are very far from that concept. Economic cooperation between Russia and Europe is going in an extremely wrong direction.

There is significant Russia-Europe cooperation, but based on double standards: companies of the big Western European countries are making great deals with Russian firms behind the scenery,” the minister said.

According to Szijjártó, the “double standards” should be abandoned and cooperation “in general” needs to be rebuilt. That, he said, would serve the interests of all countries across the EU.

He added that coupling Europe’s high technologies and raw material sources in the east would greatly improve Europe’s competitiveness.

Szijjártó warned, however, that any such restoration effort should be “based on mutual respect for one another’s rights and for international law”.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI