KONUZIN: Belgrade as regional center for Russian investment

(Alexander Konuzin)

Former Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin announced Monday that the Russian government was going to open a center for economic cooperation and investment for the Balkans and Europe in Belgrade.

According to the economic daily Privredni pregled, Konuzin pointed out that the primary goal of that non-profitable center was to enable political and economic cooperation between Russia and all countries in the region, as well as cooperation in science, education and the technical sphere.

- The importance of this center will be reflected in its contribution to the expansion of cooperation between the Balkans and Russia and, on the other hand, the networking of regional countries as we want to invest in such projects that cover a maximum number of countries of this region and, thus, affect the overall economic situation - said Konuzin.

He stressed that the relations between Serbia and Russia also provided a good foundation for cooperation, primarily in politics.

- There is also a very good legal basis for bilateral cooperation, we have significant political arrangements and very important economic relations as well - Konuzin replied when asked how the economic relations between Serbia and Russia can be affected by the situation in Ukraine.

- We want to avoid the situation where the cooperation between Russia and Serbia depends on some other factors. Opportunities exist and all we need is a political will to use them - the former Russian ambassador to Serbia underlined.