MOSCOW -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday urged to settle all kinds of problems in the Asia-Pacific region on the basis of openness and inclusiveness.
"We assume that economic, political and military-political issues in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in any other part of the world, should be addressed on the basis of the principles of openness and inclusiveness," Lavrov said.
While addressing the country's upper house of the parliament, or the Federation Council, Lavrov pointed out that the Asia- Pacific region is "the driving force of modern global economic development" and thus would get greater political influence.
He stressed that a coordination mechanism should be launched to"harmonize the basic security principles in the Asia-Pacific region on a nonaligned basis."
Meanwhile, Lavrov called the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP) and the free trade pact between the EU and the U.S. ( Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP) as "narrow formats," warning these associations could "willingly or not" lead to the depreciation of principles of the World Trade Organization.
Lavrov spoke highly of China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) initiative, saying the AIIB involved more than 50 countries including Russia and remained open for all those willing to join, which made it a "promising approach" and formed a stark contrast with "closed" economic integration like TPP and TTIP. Enditem
