Only Strong Russia Can Guarantee Stability And Prosperity To The West, And Especially To Europe

Only strong Russia can guarantee stability and prosperity to the West, and especially to Europe, said chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin in his speech on Monday at the Russian-Dutch economic forum held in the Hague. Stepashin stressed that Russia is a natural ally of the West in this unstable world. He also pointed out that the modern civilisation was now entering a new development stage. The world, according to him, is changing fast. New powerful economic centres are developing, threats of a fundamentally new character are emerging. At the same, Stepashin continued, many things in the world continue to develop by inertia, on the basis of the old stereotypes of thinking, and prejudices. I believe, he said, that the most suitable moment has come for some Western countries to review their attitude to Russia. Russia, Stepashin continued, is exerting intensive efforts to combat money laundering, and the State Duma has adopted a corresponding law. According to him, a special draft decree of the Russian president has been prepared in compliance with which a state body will be created to gather and analyze information about financial flows in Russia.