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Mr President, colleagues,

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The talks with President of the Republic of Slovenia,

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Borut Pahor, have just ended.

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First, we worked in a small group,

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and then met with the participation of ministers,

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representatives of agencies and companies to discuss in detail 

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the entire range of bilateral issues and outlined plans for the future.

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We also exchanged views on current European and international matters.

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Slovenia is Russia’s important and reliable partner in Europe.

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We welcome the commitment of the republic's government to maintain a regular political dialogue, 

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and share an interest in making steady progress in bilateral relations.

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By the way, this May will mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries.

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The experience gained during this time inspires confidence 

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that we can overcome current economic difficulties.

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As you may be aware, our trade has declined over the past years,

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but as of the end of 2016 we can say that the situation has stabilised,

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and our trade and economic relations are constantly monitored 

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by the intergovernmental commission on trade,

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economic and scientific and technical cooperation.

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The discussion touched on highly successful projects and effective 

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cooperation between our countries in the energy sector.

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In this regard, I would like to note that Russia covers 70 percent of Slovenia's needs in natural gas.

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Gazprom is working with its Slovenian partners on a new contract for gas supplies to 2022.

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Russian companies are willing to get involved 

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in refurbishing Slovenian power plants.

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The commissioning of these plants will not only increase the production of electricity for the Slovenian capital,

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but also switch electricity supplies from coal to environmentally friendly natural gas, 

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which, of course, would be beneficial for the environment.

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Cooperation in the sphere of transport infrastructure is strengthening;

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we are looking at options for Russian Railways to participate 

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in the modernisation of Slovenia’s railway network.

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This could be a major investment of about one billion euros.

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Slovenian companies are traditionally well represented in the Russian 

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pharmaceutical industry and agriculture.

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Russian regions actively cooperate with partners in Slovenia with 

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interregional relations developing steadily.

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Approximately 70 regions of Russia maintain contacts with their 

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partners and continue working on improving the legal 

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framework for such cooperation.

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I hope the agreements signed today in your presence will create new 

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opportunities for cooperation in various areas.

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We have discussed expanding humanitarian cooperation.

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In the next two years, we have a packed programme of Russian-Slovenian cross-culture seasons planned,

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 as well as Ljubljana Days in Moscow in the second half of 2017.

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We appreciate the careful and respectful attitude to our shared history,

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 the care taken of Russian military graves that we see in Slovenia. 

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I would like to remind you that in July 2016,

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Mr Pahor and I jointly unveiled a monument in Ljubljana to all Russian 

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and Soviet soldiers killed in Slovenia during the two world wars.

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I have informed the President of the latest developments 

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and the aggravation of the situation in southeastern Ukraine,

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highlighting the Minsk agreements that have absolutely no alternative 

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as a basis for resolving the conflict.

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We have also discussed the state of relations between 

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Russia and the European Union. I hope they will be gradually restored.

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In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to the Slovenian leadership, 

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and personally to Mr Pahor for this comprehensive, constructive dialogue.

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I am certain that today's meeting will contribute to the further development of bilateral relations.

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,

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President Putin and I have met five times over the past eight years,

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first as prime ministers, and the last time as presidents 

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of our respective countries.

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We have always had candid and open conversations,

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and nothing has changed in that regard.

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Even when relations between the EU and NATO, on the one hand,

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and the Russian Federation, on the other, declined a little,

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everything between us remained as before.

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While those relations may have declined,

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although Slovenia is part of NATO and the EU,

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we have always tried to do our best to continue an open dialogue 

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in order to continue to respect each other 

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and seek common and mutually acceptable solutions.

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We always try to strengthen our relations with Russia, and of course,

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make the appropriate contributions so that all of our decisions are lasting, 

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and we genuinely respect all of our agreements and strive 

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to improve relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation.

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The desire to maintain good relations is also evident 

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from the invitation that I sent to Mr Putin in late July,

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and I told him about it when we marked the 100th anniversary 

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of the Russian chapel at Vršič Pass in Slovenia.

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Today’s talks with President Putin lasted twice as long 

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as the time allocated for them.

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We exchanged views and clarified our respective points of view.

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They may be a little different,

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but we remained committed to the idea of respecting and implementing 

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all the decisions to resolve the situation in eastern Ukraine.

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I told Mr Putin that the first step is, of course,

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to withdraw the military equipment.

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After that, it will be possible to renew peace talks in accordance with the Minsk agreements.

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As a friend, I urge all parties to cease all hostilities.

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Only then will we be able to hope for improved relations between Russia and the Western world.

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I am confident that relations with the European Union will then be 

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restored at an appropriately high level.

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Mr President and I noted that a large number of contracts 

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and agreements would be signed on the sidelines of our meeting.

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This includes about 11 business contracts.

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If talks on the remaining contracts designed for the future were not 

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completed yesterday, we will do so in the future.

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I hope that this will also help improve trade between our countries.

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Ladies and gentlemen, our official visit to the Russian Federation is coming to an end.

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Tomorrow we will visit St Petersburg,

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a wonderful Russian city.

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There, we will sign an agreement between our National Gallery 

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and the Hermitage museum on important cooperation between 

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our countries and our peoples.

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President Putin and I have every reason to be optimistic about our bilateral relations in the future.

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We look forward with a positive attitude,

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and together we will truly make every effort to restore the general situation,

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 as well as relations between Russia and the Western world.

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Thank you very much.

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Mr Putin, maybe today you also received an official invitation to meet 

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with your US counterpart, Mr Trump, in Slovenia. Do you think Slovenia is a good venue for such a meeting? 

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When will you have a meeting with Mr Trump? And what is your vision of what happens next?

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Over the past five years, Russian-American relations have degraded 

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significantly and of course, they need to be restored in the interests 

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of both the Russian and the American people.

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We heard what President Trump, who has assumed office,

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thinks about this. We have always welcomed this and we hope that our 

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relations will be restored in full and in all areas.

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However, this does not depend only on us. It also depends on the US.

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We act on the assumption that the United States first needs to form its team 

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and decide who will conduct a dialogue with us and in what areas.

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This concerns trade and economic ties,

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security issues and the various parts of the world that are affected 

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by numerous conflicts; and of course, by pooling our efforts,

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we can make a substantial contribution to resolving these issues,

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including the fight against international terrorism.

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As for Ljubljana, and Slovenia as a whole, of course,

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it is a wonderful place for such talks.

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However, it depends not only on us but on a wide range of circumstances 

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and day-to-day business.

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If these meetings take place, we have nothing against Ljubljana.

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We have already held such meetings in Ljubljana and I would like 

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to thank [you] in advance, if there is such an opportunity 

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(Mr President spoke about that), 

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I would like to thank Slovenia for its willingness to organise such a meeting. 

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To reiterate, this does not depend only on us,

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but naturally, we are ready for it.

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I have a question for the President of Slovenia and the President of Russia.

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Mr Putin, you mentioned a decline in trade between the two countries 

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and then said that this decline had been halted.

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Do you believe it will be possible to continue to keep it from falling further?

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 How is it possible to accomplish this amid political sanctions 

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and what are the priority areas?

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We have just named them, both my colleague and I.

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They include energy, transport infrastructure, agriculture,

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the environment and tourism, to name a few.

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Today, we discussed energy supplies,

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among other things. I am confident that the partners will reach 

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an agreement in the near future.

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I also mentioned other areas, such as the pharmaceutical industry.

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That is, we have a variety of opportunities.

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Are the political constraints in our way? Of course, they are. 

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But I think we can get over them.

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They are not likely to always remain a factor in international politics.

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However, even in these circumstances, as you rightly pointed out,

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and I spoke about this today, we managed to overcome the recession 

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owing to the stabilisation of the Russian national currency 

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and the steady energy market situation.

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There are many variables and uncertainties that seem to be beyond our control, 

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but we can still influence them.

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And we will influence them as much as we can.

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My forecast is very optimistic in this regard.

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I think that this year our trade will go up.

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Our prospects are good. Slovenia overcame the recession, and our economic growth is up as is our economic cooperation with Russia.

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However, this growth was hampered by the sanctions.

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Even though the sanctions persist,

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and despite deteriorating relations between the European Union and Russia, 

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Slovenia maintains business cooperation with Russia as best it can.

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If the currently planned agreements are signed during this visit 

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and in the coming months – we discussed this with the President –

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despite the not-so-good relations between the West and Russia,

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our cooperation will grow and certainly exceed $1 billion.

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Our talks and this news conference are a good sign that this will happen.

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A proper environment for cooperation between the European Union 

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and Russia will be restored following a Ukraine settlement,

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which is important for the Slovenian and Russian economies.

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The settlement will lift all the restrictions on the way to further 

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expansion of economic cooperation.

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That is why we say that it is important to create such an environment.

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Clearly, it causes problems for each side,

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but friendly countries should try to find solutions 

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that  serve the interests of us all.