Sochi -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia's intensified cooperation with Asia does not mean the country is turning back on Europe.
“Claims are being made today that Russia is ostensibly turning its back on Europe, seeking other business partners, primarily in Asia. That is absolutely not so,” Putin told a conference at the Valdai International Discussion Club on Friday.
Russia’s active policy in the Asia-Pacific region began not under the pressure of sanctions but out of its pragmatic approach, since “the East is occupying an increasingly significant place in the world, both in politics and in economics,” he said.
