Russia, concerned with Eastern Partnership initiative

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Russia would keep eyes open on an initiative of the European Union (EU) to further engage former Soviet republics, Xinhua is quoted by Info-Prim Neo as reporting. The EU is to hold a summit on May 7 with leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to launch a so-called Eastern Partnership. "We've heard statements from Brussels saying that this is not a question of expanding their sphere of influence and that this is a process which is definitely not directed at Russia. We would like very much to believe this," Lavrov told reporters after a meeting with EU officials. Lavrov on Tuesday toned down his rhetoric against the EU initiative to enhance relations with the former Soviet republics. He suggested last month that the EU was seeking an eastern "sphere of influence" with this initiative. On Monday, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, labelled Lavrov's remarks as "nonsense."