MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - Participants in international economic activity must act pragmatically, without sacrificing economic interests for political ambitions, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
"Economic interests must not be sacrificed for political ambitions, prejudices, and, in general, political positions, even if our approaches to international problems differ," Medvedev said at the Higher School of Economics on Wednesday.
"All of us - I mean both Russia and our partners in all countries - must act first and foremost pragmatically. This must be absolutely obvious to all participants of international economic relations and international divisions of labor," Medvedev said.
Russia will continue advancing its Eurasian integration project, but it is keen on cooperating with all countries, including the United States and the European Union, the prime minister said.
"It is clear that this project (the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union) has its difficulties. Nevertheless, I believe that the project still has quite good prospects and potential. On the other hand, we of course would like to develop proper relations with all other countries, with all of our other economic partners both in Europe and America and in other parts of the world," Medvedev said.
This cooperation must develop on a transparent basis, out of prospects for developing free competition and the unacceptability of creating artificial barriers, he said.