Mikhail Gorbachev: "Russia and the EU are both interested in advancing relations and that all differences of opinion should be resolved through dialogue"

      Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev  has  said  that  Russia  and  the  EU  are both interested in advancing  relations  and  that  all  differences  of  opinion should be resolved through dialogue.
     "Relations  with  Germany,  with  the EU are extremely important to Russia.  We also know that relations with our country are also important to the EU," he said at the St. Petersburg Dialogue forum in Wiesbaden on Monday.
     "The misunderstanding and tension that occasionally arise, even the mutual suspicions  and accusations that we witness now - all of them can and must  be  overcome  through  dialogue,  through  taking each others' interests  into account. This is the real way to create an atmosphere of confidence," he said.
     "History  is giving us a chance and we must not lose it," Gorbachev said.
     "The  conversation  is  frank  and  acute  in form. We don't always manage to  reach agreement or understand each other, still we are moving in this  direction.  We are trying to understand each other's approaches and understanding  is  probably  the road to partnership. Differences of opinion  remain:  therefore,  it  is desirable and important to continue discussing  issues  raised  at  the  forum.  We  will  be  mulling these problems.  We  feel that objective processes taking place in both the EU and Russia  are influencing our forum," he said describing the nature of the discussion at the forum.