Tsipras in St. Petersburg: ‘A New Economic World Is Being Formed’

“Why am I here, not in Brussels? I am here because I believe (Russia) has a big role to play,” Tsipras said in a speech that for sure will enrage his European “partners.”   “The world is different from what it used to be in the past. We, in Europe, have for long had an illusion that we are the hub of the universe in the literal sense; we considered ourselves to be the world center and continued to see and count exclusively on our nearest immediate entourage….

“Nevertheless, the planet’s economic center has already shifted from that place because newly emerging forces are coming to play a more vital role at the economic and geopolitical levels.” Noting that Russia’s global role was growing, he continued, “The G8 group and the growing significance of regional cooperation in Asia and G20; as well as increased cooperation among the BRICS countries indicate that a new economic world is being formed,” Tsipras said.

“The Eurasian Union, a new organization of regional integration, is a potential example of new sources for the production of wealth, benefits and economic might,” the Greek prime minister went on to say.

“It should be taken into account that the center of gravity of global economic development is shifting, and all global challenges should be accepted with a glance to this fact. Consequently, the process of economic development will get faster,” Tsipras said.

“Instead of prosperity and economic cooperation, processes that are leading to war, militarization and imposition of sanctions have started in the region. It is a vicious circle, which should be broken as soon as possible,” Tsipras said, calling for implementation of the Minsk agreements for the Ukraine settlement.

“As all of you are aware, we are at the moment at the center of a storm of a whirlpool, but we live near the sea so we’re not scared of the sea. We are ready to go to new seas to reach new safe ports….

“The problem we are facing is deeply rooted in the process I have described. The EU should pursue its own path. The EU should go back to its initial principles of solidarity and social justice. Ensuring strict economic measures will lead us nowhere. The so-called problem of Greece is the problem of the whole European Union. With an obsession to policies of austerity that intensifies the recession, this is impossible. The problem does not bear the name Greece but Eurozone. The issue is whether the Eurozone will give ground to growth and to solidarity….

“The crisis in Ukraine has opened a new wound in the heart of Europe, a wound of instability. This is of course a very bad sign for international relations because instead of prosperity and economic cooperation in the region, we see processes leading to war, militarization, and the implementation of sanctions beginning and this vicious circle needs to end as soon as possible.”