02/07/2018 (Agence Europe) – On 30 June, the S&D coordinator for foreign affairs, German MEP Knut Fleckenstein, gave his support to the continuation of dialogue between MEPs and parliamentarians from the Duma and Council of the Russian Federation after two days of discussions. "We are making constant efforts to keep the dialogue open. The events of the last years damaged seriously the confidence between the two sides, leading to a worrying situation. That is an additional reason to maintain the channels of communication open", he said. In his view, "it is not necessary to agree with each other, but it is important to mutually understand each other’s perspectives". "We hope conditions will allow for the EU-Russia Parliamentary Co-operation Committee to re-start its work as soon as possible", he added. (CG)