Д.Медведев.Встреча со студентами.21.05.09.Part 1

Meeting with Students from Pacific National University.Part 1
May 21, 2009
Khabarovsk

Встреча со студентами Тихоокеанского государственного университета.
21 мая 2009 года
Хабаровск

QUESTION: A summit between Russia and the EU will be held in our city. Why was our city the one selected? Was it in order to show the Europeans how expansive our nation is, so that they would fly here?

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You have just perfectly summarised the reasons I had in mind when I suggested the city of Khabarovsk to our EU partners. Last time, we met in Khanty-Mansiisk; we were sitting at dinner, talking, and they said, Wow, that was a long flight, five hours. I said, Yes, but keep in mind that in line with the concept of a united, so-called Greater Europe, which includes all of Russia, then this Europe stretches from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Far East, which means that we are still far from its eastern limits. Would you be interested in flying to a different place? They thought about it, and said, All right. But they didnt fully realize what that meant. I will be meeting with them tonight. I believe it is a 10-hour flight from Brussels, with a 9-hour time difference, so they will really get a sense of how big Russia is. You were right on point, this is exactly why Khabarovsk was chosen.

But at the same time, if we are to talk seriously, this choice is very important, because we really are developing a partnership with the European Union. It is essential for us to have a feel for one anothers specifics. They must understand how Russia works, how big it is, what problems it faces, but also, what advantages it has to offer, what its climatic peculiarities are, and which areas may be most favourable for some particular businesses. All this is significant because our relations have a strong economic basis. The European Union is essentially our key economic partner. We have other large partners as well, such as the Peoples Republic of China, but the EU is still greater in terms of total turnover and the total volume of trade transactions per year. Because of this, Europeans should be aware of how things work here.

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