Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now an envoy to the international diplomatic quartet on the Middle East, in Moscow, June 16, 2008.
Photo: AP
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Blair Wants Partnership with Russia
Great Britain and the United States will make a serious mistake if they do not form a strategic partnership with Russia, former British prime minister Tony Blair said today at the 12th annual investors’ conference in Moscow. He added that he thinks the Russian economy has not exhausted its potential for development and may continue to grow. Blair acknowledged “certain difficulties” in British-Russian relations of late, but said that Britain and the West had to take into consideration how Russia has changed in the last ten years when tackling those problems.
The former prime minister also told conference attendees in Moscow that shifting centers of political and economic influence in the East are not a threat to Western countries. Rather, the process creates new opportunities for developed countries. European countries must think about attracting investors’ money, including those in the Middle East, to their countries. He said that one sovereign fund in the Persian Gulf was four times larger than the annual budget of Israel, and should be encouraged to reinvest in Europe.
Blair explained that the new centers of influence in recent years are not only China and India. They include the Middle East and Russia as well.
www.kommersant.com
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