Bilateral relations with European states more important for Russia that ties with EU – Medvedev

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that bilateral contacts with European states are now more important for Russia than relations with the European Union. He made the statement at a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Antti Rinne in Moscow.

Moscow is not going to be the first to lift its restrictions imposed in response to the EU sanctions against Russia, Medvedev said.

The sanctions, which may be retained for a long time, do not hamper the cooperation with European countries separately, according to the prime minister. He added that a number of Russian companies do not want Moscow’s restrictive measures to ever be lifted at all, RIA Novosti reported.