EU must speak with 'one voice': Russian foreign minister
(MOSCOW) - Russia wants the European Union to speak with "one voice" after EU leaders chose Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the bloc's first president, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.
"We want the European Union to react more quickly to global issues, that it speaks with one voice," Lavrov said in a joint press conference with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Moscow.
He added that Russia wanted to see a "stronger, more efficient European Union."
Leaders from the 27-member bloc met in Brussels on Thursday and named Van Rompuy as president of the European Union.
They also picked Britain's Catherine Ashton to be the new EU foreign policy chief.
"We want to cooperate with the new EU leaders. I am sure that Herman Van Rompuy will continue the strategic partnership with Russia," Lavrov said.
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