ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the right-wing parties that improved their position in the European Parliament as a result of the recent European election were not pro-Russian but rather thought that better ties with Moscow were in their national interests.
"You have mentioned the victory, the rise of pro-Russian forces in the European Parliament but these are not pro-Russian forces. They are pro-German, pro-Hungarian, pro-Italian... These are forces that believe that establishing relations with Russia is in their national interests," Putin said at at a meeting with heads of international news agencies at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), answering a corresponding question.
Putin added that Russia would make responsive steps toward the European Parliament, including lifting economic sanctions against the bloc, if it showed desire to cooperate.
SPIEF began on Thursday and will last through Saturday. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the forum.
