Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Debate
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Lord Pearson of Rannoch
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Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Lord Pearson of Rannoch Excerpts(9 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)
My Lords, since the noble Lord has mentioned me at such length, is it not true that President Putin offered a free trade agreement from Lisbon to Vladivostok in 2010 and that the EU responded with the offers that we all know about? Is it not true that Russia always made clear that it could not tolerate the Crimea going under the sphere of influence of Brussels and, eventually, NATO?
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, the noble Lord obviously watches “RussiaToday” rather more than he watches the BBC. We are quite willing to discuss broader issues with the Russians. There are severe problems about negotiating a free trade agreement with a country in which the rule of law is so extremely weak.