During the public event in Brussels on June, 17, former European Commission President Romano Prodi advocated that both the EU and Russia should display good will and political maturity and not consider their interests vis-à-vis Ukraine as a zero-sum game, writes the EUobserver.
“Prodi’s main message to the conference, organised by a lobbyist working for the Ukrainian government and hosted by the Brussels Press Club, was that the EU needed to build relations with Kiev taking account of the special Ukraine-Russia relationship,” EUobserver reports
The former Commission President praised Ukraine for having “the strongest civil society” compared to any other former Soviet Republic. Mentioning that Ukraine is a reliable partner to NATO and there have been “no major problems” with Russia in this regard.
“The dialogue between the EU and Russia must not be in spite of Ukraine, but because of Ukraine,” said Prodi, advocating that both the EU and Russia should display good will and political maturity and not consider their interests vis-à-vis Ukraine as a zero-sum game.
