Speaking with journalists in Kaliningrad, Mr. Grushko admitted that the negotiation process with the EU will be no brief task. It will take reasonable time, two-three years, to complete negotiations, he said. -This is a complex document, which touches upon all fields of inter-relations between Russia and the EU, the deputy minister said. –It will not only be about economy, but also about social and political issues, questions of domestic and external security, inter-relations within the field of technology, culture and human contacts, he added. -Relations between Russia and the EU are so diverse that it is difficult to imagine that they will ever reach a final form, Mr. Grushko said, adding that amendments to the new agreement will still be needed and that theses can made in additional agreements. He also highlighted that Russia wants a framework agreement, which gives meaning to the “strategic partnership” between the parts. -Visa-free travel will be one way to demonstrate the actual meaning of strategic partnership, he argues In the EU-Russia summit in November this year, the EU leaders announced their readiness to restarts talks with the Russians. Then, negotiations had been stalled for several months following the Russian-Georgian war in August. The two countries on 2 December restarted the talks.
