Russia, EU heading towards new agreement
“We, the leaders of the European Union and Russia, today started the negotiations on a new Russia-EU Agreement, which will replace the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement from 1997”, a joint statement from today’s EU-Russia summit reads.
“We agreed that the goal is to conclude a strategic agreement, which will lay down a comprehensive basis for relations between Russia and the EU in long-term future and help develop the potentials of our partnership”, the statement continues.
The new agreement will be based on the EU-Russian “road map” and its four common spaces.
In a comment to the press, President Dmitry Medvedev also said that the summit participants discussed the possibilities for introducing visa-free travel. –I believe the most important step for us now is the possibility to sketch time schedules and concrete steps which can bring us towards the goal – the introduction of visa-free travel, he said
-The new agreement will be an instrument for real rapprochement between Russia and the European Union, he added.
Negotiations over the agreement will be continued on 4 July, the Kremlin.ru reports.
