EU shows growing interest in EAEU projects - Russian diplomat

NUR-SULTAN, April 11. /TASS/. The interest of European countries in the development of trade and economic ties with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is growing, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Thursday. "An indicator of advancing Eurasian integration is the increasing interest of our foreign partners in the development of trade and economic relations with the EAEU. This also applies to the European Union and other existing integration organizations," he said. Karasin noted that the EU countries are also showing great interest the Northern Sea Route project. "Developing an optimal formula for relations with neighboring states and expanding ties in the east and west is essential for our integration association. This cooperation is now very relevant," the diplomat said. Karasin added that the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) need to increase mutual settlements in national currencies and pair payment systems. "In modern conditions of illegitimate expansion of politicized restrictive practices, including those in the field of international finance, there is an increasing need for further expansion of mutual settlements in national currencies and pairing payment systems. We see moving away from being tied to the dollar as an objective response to decreasing predictability of US economic policy and abuse of the position of the global currency issuer," Karasin said. According to him, expanding the practice of using national currencies in mutual settlements increases security of the EAEU payment systems from the negative impact of external factors and security of cross-border operations. Read more