Transcript of plenary meeting of members of the Russian Government and the European Commission:
Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Barroso (José Manuel Durão Barroso – President of the European Commission), members of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to Moscow. This meeting involves most of the Russian Government members and EU Commissioners. This broad format allows us to exchange ideas on the many issues in our relations and makes it easier to find the neccessary solutions.
Yesterday we discussed the status and prospects of Russian-Eurapean Union relations with Mr Barroso. The Russian President received the President of the European Commission. We are interested in ensuring reciprocal, and serious relations that will continue to promote a strategic partnership. This is what we discussed at yesterday’s conference Russia and the European Union: Partnership and Potential. This is all I’d like to say at this point. Mr Barroso, the floor is yours.
José Manuel Durão Barroso (via interpreter): Thank you, Mr Prime Minister, Russian Government members.
I am happy, as are the other representatives of the European Commission, to visit Moscow again and continue our dialogue at the executive authority level. This is the largest meeting of the Russian Government and the European Commission in history. Also, thank you for the productive dialogue we had yesterday. And yesterday I had a wonderful meeting with the Russian President, Mr Putin. I think today’s meeting will be very productive as we willtry to achieve specific results, and find solutions to the challenges in Russian-EU relations. With this in mind, we will start our work today. I hope it will be productive.
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Documents signed following the meeting between the Russian Government and the European Commission
The following documents were signed:
1. A roadmap on Russia-EU energy cooperation to 2050.
2. A joint statement by Russian Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief, Vladimir Puchkov, and European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, on cooperation in civil protection.
3. An Administrative Memorandum of Understanding between Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare and the European Commission's Directorate General for Health & Consumers on the principles, goals and the structure of the dialogue in the area of consumer rights protection.
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Dmitry Medvedev and Jose Manuel Borroso give a joint news conference
Transcript:
Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon,
We have completed our meeting of the Russian Government and the European Commission. We were very pleased to welcome here in Moscow such a representative delegation headed by my colleague, European Commission President Jose Manuel Borroso. I think this delegation includes the biggest number of Commissioners I have ever seen. I think this shows we have what to discuss, we have our agenda. We have made many achievements recently. We have issues that we must resolve. So we looked at all aspects of our recent cooperation and discussed practically all issues.
We have signed several important documents. We have many meetings – summits and government and European Commission forums – and I think every meeting should end with the signing of some important documents. This does not mean at all that we need to make a breakthrough at every meeting (we spoke about this yesterday at dinner), but we should always move forward. Today we have signed a roadmap on Russia-EU energy cooperation to 2050, a joint arrangement on cooperation in civil protection and a memorandum on dialogue between Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare) and the commission’s Directorate General for Health & Consumers on the protection of consumers’ rights. Our conversation was open, sincere, intensive and quite constructive. Naturally, sometimes we argue on some issues but as I’ve already said this is normal because this reflects the high level of dynamics in Russia-EU relations.
As usual, we focused on trade and economic ties. We also discussed them yesterday at the conference devoted to Russia-EU partnership. The conference proved to be very interesting as well, and I hope we’ll continue holding such events. I’m very grateful to my colleague Mr Barroso and to my other colleagues with whom we worked in the past for attending this conference.
We have very good figures on trade – its turnover has increased almost by 5% to reach $410 billion. True, we have agreed not to recall the dollar anymore because the EU uses Euros and we are doing everything we can to support the Euro. We want it to become a strong and stable currency, so from now on we’ll measure everything in Euros.
The EU is a very strong foreign investor in the Russian economy. Let’s put it straight – it is the biggest foreign investor. Its accumulated capital investment reached $264 billion by 2012. Russia also invests its funds and does business in EU countries, and this already makes up a decent sum of $74 billion.
Obviously, Russia’s WTO entry is an important signal.
This offers a range of options and tests for a number of Russian economic sectors. Therefore we should help each other in this situation, listen to each other, conduct a dialogue and search for a solution to the most complicated issues.
Recently we approved a state programme, Promoting Foreign Economic Activity to 2018. And of course, our task is to ensure competitive conditions for exporters and investors.
We have discussed yet another important initiative which was made some years ago with the direct participation of my colleague, Mr Barroso – Partnership for Modernisation. This is a good topic. It became one of the fundamental points on Russia - EU agenda and of our relations. There currently exist large projects and good plans. Today we spoke about how to bring new blood to this cooperation, what additional areas of cooperation could be included in the Partnership for Modernisation.
There is one more important issue on which we have not yet advanced, but we should by all means move forward – drafting a new basic agreement between Russia and the European Union, taking into account Russia’s accession to the WTO and our Eurasian integration. We attach great importance to this document. We have agreed to look for a compromise in order to proceed to signing this document in the short-term, because the document was signed in 1994 – next year will mark its twenty-year anniversary. Perhaps we will be able to sign a new document by that time. We will see.
Of course, we discussed energy. We have a huge potential here, and the level of cooperation is colossal. Most importantly, this cooperation should be implemented on a mutually advantageous basis; we should observe all commitments and mutual interests. You are all well aware that the main hindrance for us is the third energy package; we are conducting a dialogue on this point. We believe that our colleagues in the European Commission must hear Russia’s arguments. We have never said that we want to abolish everything; we just want our partners to hear our arguments, including legal arguments. In this case we will be able to build stable and mutually advantageous cooperation for decades to come.
Today we also discussed freedoms, human rights, security and justice. This is also an essential area of our cooperation where we will continue our mutual consultations.
Visas remain a very important subject – at the same time, they create a rather complicated barrier between EU residents and Russians. Regrettably, this barrier does not help develop our relations – rather, it keeps us apart. In this regard, our position is simple – visas should be abolished. How can we do this? This is matter for our agreements and for compliance with documents that have been signed.
I would like to say again that yesterday's talks, the meeting of the European Commission President with the Russian President, our current lengthy and comprehensive consultations with the participation of all ministers and European commissioners were very productive and timely. I am confident that they have been useful, and I want to warmly thank all our European colleagues for their work and for the very friendly atmosphere. Thank you.
Jose Manuel Barroso (via interpreter): Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! First of all I would like to thank Mr Medvedev for the warm reception accorded to me and my delegation. We held a very good meeting today; however my visit started yesterday, and already yesterday we discussed many issues in detail. I also had an opportunity to meet with President Putin, and we discussed many issues of mutual interest. I have taken 15 European commissioners to Moscow – this is the most representative delegation of the European Commission to have ever visited an EU partner nation. I’m satisfied with the work we have carried out; I’m sure it will make it possible to consolidate our strategic partnership. Successful cooperation and dialogue do not happen all of a sudden; they are the result of a willingness to implement commitments, and to approach problematic issues openly and in a constructive spirit. Strategic partnership ought to be built on confidence.
We have discussed many issues: trade, transport, energy, mobility, science, technology, management, and the supremacy of law. Our relations have a comprehensive character, and this should be reflected in the new agreement.
An ambitious comprehensive agreement will make it possible for us to move closer to our goals, secure investments and get a sector-specific dialogue on track. It would be symbolic if we managed to close the deal next year, which marks the 20th anniversary of our Partnership and Cooperation Treaty, signed in 1994.
Trade is a pillar of our cooperation. The EU is by far Russia’s largest trade partner. And Russia is the third largest trade partner to the EU. In 2012 alone, EU-Russia trade totalled some 336 billion euros.
About 75% of foreign direct investment in Russia originates from Europe. In 2012, the EU’s foreign direct investment amounted to 120 billion euros. This goes to show that our current relations are at a very high level in terms of trade and investment. Despite the economic difficulties we’re facing these days, we can see our relations are advancing. And this is a positive sign, obviously.
As you know, the EU has welcomed Russia’s accession to the WTO. This has proved to be the country’s most significant achievement in economic diversification so far. Hopefully, this step will give a boost to our trade and investment ties. But to make that happen, we should fulfill all the commitments we’ve made to ensure growth and development, including open trade, transparent regulations, and non-protectionism.
This is why we support Russia’s presidency of the G20 and the priorities it has set for its presidency – priorities aimed at boosting economic growth and creating new jobs.
We need reform and modernisation to be able to fully meet our economies’ growth potential, and we’re happy to note that in that the EU is a key partner of Russia’s in the modernisation process. Incidentally, it was Prime Minister Medvedev and I who launched the “partnership for modernisation” initiative four years ago, with Mr Medvedev then acting as Russian president. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go before we translate that partnership into reality. But already, more than 2 billion euros has been pledged for the implementation of joint projects by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and by some other EU banks.
Another point I’d like to make is that modernisation should go hand in hand with further consolidation of the rule of law and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. Modernisation just won’t work unless it is supported by civil society, and for civil society to thrive and develop, appropriate conditions must be created.
Another issue we’ve discussed is energy cooperation; it always tops our agenda. Let us not forget that the EU is the main consumer of Russian fuel, and the destination for 80% of Russia’s oil exports, as well as for 70% of its natural gas exports and half of its coal supplies. So it’s only natural that we should be interested in open, transparent and predictable markets. Difficulties often arise owing to the high intensity of our relations, but both sides unfailingly show their willingness to cooperate and to build open relations.
Prime Minister Medvedev was right in saying that we disagree on some of energy-related issues. That’s true. Yet, we’ve managed just now to approve an EU-Russian roadmap on energy cooperation through the year 2050. Here’s what I told the Prime Minister: I don’t know if we will live long enough to see with our own eyes whether the roadmap will be delivered on. I do hope, though, that we will [still be alive in 2050] – it’s not impossible theoretically. And I also hope that we’ll be able to produce some positive results earlier than that. Because this is a manifestation of our shared willingness to work effectively toward realising our ultimate goal, which is the creation of a pan-European energy area. Hopefully, this will become a reality before 2050.
We’ve already made a number of achievements in some very important areas. For instance, we’ve just signed an administrative arrangement on cooperation in emergencies, plus a memorandum on the protection of consumer rights.
I’m happy to announce that 2014 has been proclaimed EU-Russia Year of Innovations and Science.
Also, we are cooperating in-depth to enhance security and combat terrorism. We’ve made sure our collaborative efforts are efficient and yield concrete results.
Our cooperation is of great importance to our nations; it's a guarantee of public prosperity and well-being. This is why our efforts to ensure social mobility are so important.
We’ve managed to make some progress in our talks over the prospect of relaxing visa requirements and we’ve come close to reaching such an agreement, actually. It’s important to create appropriate conditions for the completion of our talks – an issue on which we’ve share opinions.
We also seek progress in implementing common steps toward scrapping visa requirements. We still have a number of issues to address before we are able to take concerted efforts in that direction.
Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the EU and Russia are truly strategic partners. We underwrite each other’s economic security and prosperity, and our meeting today has shown that we’re ready to switch from sector-based partnership over to a global partnership of choice. This will hopefully enable us to fully meet our cooperation potential. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with you, the Russian Government, and with Russian authorities in general.
Once again, thanks a lot for your warm welcome, something that inspired fruitful communication between us today and yesterday.
Question: Prime Minister [Medvedev] said yesterday that the European bureaucracy and the general attitude toward Russia prevent a number of issues from getting resolved. And that some issues are easier to address one-on-one with specific EU member states than with the European Union as a whole.
I’m not a government official, I’m an average Russian, 30 years old, and I’m a regular TV and Internet user. For me personally and people like me it is difficult to see any real progress on a whole number of issues concerning the EU-Russia relationship. Mr Medvedev identified several of those issues earlier today; it’s only the Cyprus issue that he may have left out. The European Union is calling on Cyprus not to turn to Russia for aid. Is the EU really interested in integration with Russia? Or perhaps the EU is wary of Russia? Perhaps you fear that Russia will swallow up the EU someday or strip it of its sovereignty?
A similar question to Prime Minister Medvedev. Maybe Russia is afraid of the European Union, of the prospect of it pushing the country aside, toward the Pacific region?
Dmitry Medvedev: I wish our Chinese counterparts were attending. With them around, your question would have sounded especially relevant.
Jose Manuel Barroso (via interpreter): I won’t comment, I’ll just try to answer your question. If I understand you correctly, you’re asking whether the EU is afraid of Russia? My short answer would be “no.”
I understand that you’d like me to expand on that. Well, it’s not just that we aren’t afraid of Russia, but we seek to advance meaningful cooperation with your country as well. This is something we discuss openly and sincerely, not only in our inner circle, not only with Putin, but also as part of public consultations. Some of you saw me and the Prime Minister speak at an international conference organised by the Russian Foreign Relations Council, in which prominent figures from Russia and the EU took part. We are very open. True, there are certain difficulties to overcome. There are issues on which we don’t agree, such as the regulatory mechanisms currently in effect in Russia. There are also problems related to Russia’s compliance with WTO obligations. That’s no secret. We don’t see eye to eye on everything. I have just gone over the figures for trade and investment which are a clear indicator of the importance of continued growth in our relationship for both Russia and the European Union. I went over it yesterday; I don’t want to repeat it today.
What is important to me? We share basically the same civilisation. We consider Russia to be an important part of European civilisation, and we are proud of that part. I mentioned such great people as Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Musorgsky, Stravinsky. There are great film-makers from the Communist era, and one of my favourites is Tarkovsky. Russia and the European Union have may prominent personalities. Also, I think Russia admires the French, the Italian and other cultures. And I believe this is more important than any political difficulties we might have.
Sometimes, our problems stem from bureaucratic resistance in the European Union, and I can tell you that 27 bureaucracies are more difficult than a single Brussels bureaucracy in Europe. There is also bureaucracy here in Russia of course. Yes, there are problems on either side. But our relationship is open, it is moving ahead. I think when there is a problem we should try to solve it first. We shouldn’t let a specific issue taint the overall relationship. We consider the citizens of Russia to be European citizens, part of a broad European family. Russia also by its sheer size is the biggest country in geographical terms. I won’t make a prediction about the next EU expansion, that’s not relevant here, but we do have very important common interests. We have some difficulties that exist but are clear thanks to a very open and friendly dialogue about the way to move forward. So this was the long version of the answer I gave before: No, we are not afraid of Russia. On the contrary, we have a positive relationship with our Russian partners.
Dmitry Medvedev: I could just do with one No and say nothing else because my esteemed colleague has offered a brilliant answer about what unites us and the challenges we face. You know, I’d like to share just one detail. I recall when I invited my friends to hold the next Russia–EU summit in Khabarovsk, I sensed, naturally, internal strain: it’s a long flight and it’s hard to know where you’re going and what you are going to see there. But after the summit, it was Jose Barroso who said “We didn’t expect to see such a cross section of European civilisation there, in the Far East.” This is a small indication that our concept of cooperating from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the idea of a single European space is not still-born. It’s not just rhetoric, it’s a feasible concept however much we might argue, and we will argue both about energy and other issues, but no matter how many problems arise, Europe remains our key partner, an irreplaceable partner. We have good relations indeed, just as with our personal relationships, which is crucial in terms of compromise. That’s why everything will be good with us, don’t worry.
Question (via interpreter): A question for the President of the European Commission and a question for the Prime Minister. President Barroso, you quoted Churchill yesterday in trying to explain the Russian psyche. You said, “There is a key to understand Russia and that key is Russian national interest.” It’s not always clear whether you fully understand Russia’s national interest on issues such as Cyprus, Syria, WTO trade, energy and others?
And for the Prime Minister, if I may. I noticed that the Chinese President is coming to Moscow soon, and that Russian trade with China is growing at about 12 %. Is this an approach Mr. Putin will pursue in the future?
Jose Barroso: You brought up many issues that I can’t respond to due to time restraints. What I can say is the following. There are, as I said earlier, different issues where probably the Russian national interest, as Russia defines it, is not in line with our priorities or the way we define our common interest. And we have to assume this. That does not put in question what I said earlier about the indispensable character of our partnership and the progress we have made in our relations.
Yes, it’s true, we have different approaches to the Syria issue. I believe I understand Russia’s position and why Russia has that position. But we have another perception and another approach, and we define it in another way. Now the question is, is this difference or rather differences a real obstacle for achieving progress in the issues that, for instance, we have discussed today here, from trade to investment to energy to mobility? I don’t think it is.
There are also, let’s be frank, even more differences in our approaches, for instance, to the issue of the role of civil society. We don’t always converge on all the issues related to fundamental freedoms and rights. We heard today and yesterday at the conference some very interesting remarks regarding, for example, the policy here towards NGOs. This is not our policy and we are not ambiguous about it. By quoting Churchill, I wanted to say that it is critically important to understand the Russian national interest. That does not mean that our, European Union interests, and Russian interests always coincide.
But I don’t want to avoid the question about China. First of all, we are not jealous. There’s an unwritten rule in international relations to not be jealous. We think that the development of the Russian-Chinese relationship is in the interest of the European Union. There are some people with a limited vision who think that it is better to be friendly with those who are weaker. I think this is a limited vision, really.
In the 21st century we are so much interdependent that I believe it’s possible to build partnerships, to build win-win approaches where all parties can win. And this was the approach that the European Union developers tried to build. We were recently awarded, it was a great honour for us, the Nobel Peace Prize. We are developing the values that lied at the foundation of the EU. I know that’s against traditional Realpolitik thinking. I don’t think that we’ll be stronger at the expense of our partners. I believe the stability of Russia, the prosperity of Russia is a very positive development, first for Russians, but also for us as partners and neighbours. We have new opportunities for growth. The same applies to China, and we are in a very constructive relationship with China. So I am saying that because I know that sometimes the key to the analysis of international relations is: some progress will come at the cost of others. I don’t share such an approach. My experience in life and also what I’ve seen at least since the end of the Cold War show that those gain really in global affairs who have this approach of openness to international cooperation and not the limited vision of extreme nationalism or the idea that the weaker the others are, the stronger we are. This is not the approach of the European Union, certainly it is not mine.
Dmitry Medvedev: We all look back when we try to understand something. I can say that for me, as someone who went to university during Soviet times and has since worked in a new Russia, the way our relationships with the European Union and China are progressing is really very special.
I could never have imagined that our relationship with Europe and with neighbouring China would reach these levels. I find it symbolic that we began the day by working with our European colleagues, and that later today our Government will start a Russian-Chinese meeting. It means the world has changed dramatically; it has changed so much that we could hardly have imagined it some 20-25 years ago. We are partners with the European Union; we have a special partnership with China.
As Mr Barroso said, we’re not jealous of each other but are trying to benefit from this for our people. A partnership always has its parameters. As I’ve just mentioned, our trade turnover with the EU is the highest, at $400 billion. With China it’s less, about $90 billion although China is a vast country. To my knowledge, the EU’s trade turnover is greater than ours, but we aim to bring it up to $200 billion, and we are very much interested in our partnership, as well as all global partnership, being harmonious. It seems to me that we have succeeded in this regard over the past few years, so I am optimistic about our future relations with the EU and China.
Question: I am addressing my question to Mr Barroso and you, Mr Medvedev.
If you don’t mind, let us return to the visa issue. You have mentioned again that visas should be abolished. This dialogue has taken place since 2007, yet for a long time no breakthrough has been made. The only recent update is that Germany has withdrawn its objections as regards service passports. The question is: what exactly prevents us from making the next breakthrough and taking a specific step towards each other? What are we stumbling over and what issues do we have to solve in the short term to overcome this hindrance?
Dmitry Medvedev: Let me speak about this, as Russia is the one taking the lead here. You know, actually nothing is hindering the process, but we ourselves. We have to understand that visas are the thing that has to be abolished one way or another if we are to maintain a strategic partnership. It is, if you like, our Carthage that has to be destroyed.
We have come a long way, and we have coordinated our efforts and are making progress. I do not think we have come to a standstill here, but Russia would like the process to go faster so that visa restrictions can be eliminated for the Sochi 2014 Olympics or in the short term. But I understand what my colleague is talking about. The European Union is not one country, it comprises 27 countries, and not everything depends on the European Commission. This means that each county has to make its own decision, and this requires time.
Frankly, I’ve had many talks with my colleagues and partners from many European countries. Some of them have a simple position: they are ready to abolish visas right now. Others say: “Look, we have many issues in our country as well, and I cannot make this decision fast.” But we have to make progress in this regard. Currently, we are working in two areas of activity. The first, and the main one, is abolishing short-stay visas – this is what our people and the business community are looking for. The second area concerns easing visa procedures, a simplified procedure for applying. As regards the second one, we have made good progress. I hope that with consideration of certain points, we can enter the document signing stage in the near future. As for the first one, we will continue our work in this regard. I hope the moment of taking the necessary decisions and signing documents is already in sight, as I have a very strong opinion that it is this issue that hinders the development of Russian-EU relations – not energy or those related to regulations, and not disputes over specific trade issues, but the visa question is a key issue as this is a humanitarian thing, thus the main one.
José Manuel Barroso: First, as regards visas. We are committed to our goal – that is, introducing a visa-free system, but we have to be open and frank here. We have been clear with Russian authorities that we have to gain the support of all the member states. I would like a visa-free regime to be introduced today – this is my dream, for Russians to travel to Europe and for Europeans to travel to Russia, the free movement of goods and people across the continents from Lisbon to Vladivostok – these are our ultimate goals.
However, it is evident that we cannot achieve this overnight, so we have to take steps. We have already agreed on simplifying the visa regime, and currently we are finalising the new agreement. As Mr Medvedev mentioned, there are technical issues which I believe will be settled soon, and we have discussed this in detail today. As soon as these issues are settled, I think we will be able to sign the agreement. I hope this happens soon.
Our tourist traffic is growing, with the number of tourists visiting the EU and Russia constantly increasing. Russians visit the EU, while many Europeans eagerly visit Russia. So, this is our mutual goal, but we have to settle some issues before all the member states give us the green light and allow simplifying the visa regime.
Question (as translated): The Wall Street Journal. Excuse me for being a bit boring and unoriginal here, but my question concerns Cyprus. As I understood it, you discussed this issue yesterday and today. Have you reached any solution on this issue? Have your positions come any closer? How could Russia help Cyprus?
To put it another way, will Russia go along with some agreed settlement of the problem, or will Cyprus accept the option proposed by the European Union? And will Russia take part in the fund discussed yesterday?
Russia has been unable or unwilling to help Cyprus despite the fact that Russian state companies, individuals, private companies and Russian oligarchs keep their money in Cyprus. How can Russia help Cyprus? Does it mean that Russia has abandoned the depositors who have taken their money to Cyprus?
Dmitry Medvedev: We have said quite a lot about Cyprus recently. Things are not going well there. I don’t mind telling you that it worries everyone. It worries the Cypriots themselves, it worries the European Union because Cyprus is a member of the European Union, it worries us because it is true that a number of Russian companies with state participation, private companies and individuals have accounts there. To be frank, though, our companies and our citizens have accounts in other countries as well. Similarly, other states and other companies, not only Russian ones, have accounts in Cyprus. One has to keep that in mind. But the main task, as we said yesterday and today, is one: to find a mutually acceptable solution. Russia believes the mutually acceptable solution should be found by the European Union on one side and Cyprus, which is a European Union member, on the other. This is the most important thing at present. The terms they agree matter to us for obvious reasons, but the main thing is that the decision should be effective and should help Cyprus out of the difficult situation in which the state and its financial system are. As for our involvement in the process, we have not shut the door, we have not said, “we are not going to discuss anything anymore and we don’t want to hear about it, Cyprus is just a member state of the European Union and leave us alone.” We have obvious economic interests there, but we will only be ready to discuss various options for supporting that state (indeed, we have already helped them at one point when we gave them a loan) after the final scheme involving the European Union and Cyprus has been worked out. Only then will Russia be able to join in this process on clear legal and economic grounds.
This is our position. We are in the process of dialogue; nothing dramatic is happening in our dialogue, although the situation itself is fairly dramatic and it has to be resolved as quickly as possible, but we hope a solution will be worked out soon. We will stay in touch over the issue with our European Commission partners and of course with the Cyprus authorities.
Jose Manuel Barroso: The Cyprus issue has been raised in our talks with Russia for some time now. Cyprus found itself in a difficult situation primarily because of the size and structure of its banking system compared with the size of the country. We are very concerned about the consequences of this situation for the people of Cyprus – this is our top priority and our main concern, and I want to be clear about this. I have heard the concerns of our Russian partners and I discussed them with Prime Minister Medvedev and President Putin yesterday. I explained the rationale of the Eurogroup’s latest decision. I have to say that it was a unanimous decision of the Eurogroup and the eurozone states, including Cyprus. I think during the course of our consultations with Russia we were able to better understand what is at stake and we realised that Russia has a certain interest in how the Cyprus situation is resolved. But Prime Minister Medvedev rightly said that it is up to Cyprus and the other EU member states to take the final decision. Brussels continues to work, and negotiations with Nicosia will go on. We are running out of time, we cannot waste a minute, we must work with the troika partners – the IMF and the Central Bank – to come up with a solution that will be acceptable to all.
The Cyprus authorities have announced that they have worked out an alternative solution. The latest information I have got is that they are not yet ready to formulate concrete final proposals. We have not yet received the proposal, but we are waiting for it. Like the EU member states, we are ready to consider the decision and to try to do everything possible, everything we can to settle the situation. Given the will of all the parties, Cyprus as the most interested party and an EU member, and other parties, I am sure a solution will be found. So I am calling on all the parties to work together seeking an early solution to this problem that would be acceptable for Cyprus and for the eurozone as a whole.
Dmitry Medvedev: Goodbye.