by IMMANUEL WALLERSTEIN
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia visited Germany in the end of November. Before arriving there, he published an op-ed in the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, which commented on this interview under the headline, “Putin hugs Europe.”
The contents of the op-ed were quite remarkable. Putin said that the lesson to be drawn from the severest economic crisis of the world economy in eight decades was the need for Russia to work more closely with the European Union. “We propose the creation of a harmonious economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok.” He said that “in the future, we could even consider a free trade zone or even more advanced forms of integration.” He suggested that such a continental market would be worth trillions of Euros.
Immanuel Wallerstein for more
via Z Space