Russia urging Latin America to cooperation with Eurasian Economic Union

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russia and the countries of Latin America are promoting political dialogue in an encouraging tonality at different levels and Moscow initiates cooperation between the regional countries and the Eurasian Economic Union, Alexander Shchetinin, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department told TASS on Thursday. "Russia initiates cooperation between Latin American countries and their associations, on the one hand, and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), on the other hand," he said. "First precisely targeted business discussions have already been held on the basis of the memorandums that the Eurasian Economic Commission has signed with Peru and Chile and coordination of similar documents with Mercosur, the Andean Community of Nations and CARICOM is underway." "In a bilateral format, negotiations with Ecuador and some other countries are in progress," he said. Russia is developing ties with the regional countries on the bilateral and multilateral platforms likewise. "Cooperation with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is a priority guideline for us," Shchetinin said. "Russia is setting up a mechanism of political dialogue and cooperation with them." He called Latin Americ a good and friendly partner that Russia is developing diversified cooperation based on mutual respect, pragmatism and absence of ideological underpinnings. "Our cooperation with a number of countries like Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, and Ecuador has a strategic nature but we are promoting diverse ties with all the countries without exception," Shchetinin said. "Our political dialogue has positive dynamics, including the level of heads of state, foreign ministers, heads of government departments, and parliament speakers," he said. Read more