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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev http://atv.odessa.ua Russia is not allergic to the accession to the European Union by new members, including those from southeastern Europe, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

"We are not and cannot be allergic to the EU accession by new members, including from Eastern Europe. For Russia, certainly the main thing is that the new EU members develop good relations with the Russian Federation so that their EU membership is not detrimental to the traditional friendly relations with these countries and that it facilitates close mutual understanding," Medvedev said before the Serbian National Assembly on Tuesday.

"Certainly, this applies entirely to Serbia as well," he said.

"Both in European and global affairs the time has come for trying to change the international climate. In this respect, I believe the U.S. turning its negotiating positions towards multilateral diplomacy in general is quite a favorable factor," Medvedev said.

"The previous approaches have 100% compromised themselves," he said.

"The Russian Federation is ready to harmonize its relations with the U.S., our other Western partners, including also calm and constructive cooperation with the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in order to solve our common problems," the Russian president said.

"[Russia] is already in strategic partnership with the European Union, and it is meant to become one of the essential pillars of a new Europe," he said.