St. Petersburg — A senior Russian minister said Friday that Moscow's strategic goal is the integration of the post-Soviet region and those who oppose this could not be considered partners.
"This is our strategic goal," First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and he said he did not understand why the U.S. opposed those efforts.
"It is necessary to create an attitude abroad that all those who are against our goal, they are not our friends, not our partners. Those are people who are trying to destroy the basis of our economic strength."
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