Russia's shift of its economic development strategy onto the Asian-Pacific region is a "natural response" to the development of global affairs, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.
"Our new Asian strategy is not just a senseless revenge to Europe but quite a logical development of events and a thoughtful response to the changing economic environment," Xinhua quoted Medvedev as saying at an international investment forum in Sochi.
As three quarters of Russia's territory lies in Asia, Moscow must put in place "an active and future-oriented strategy," a media report quoted him as saying.
Medvedev said that Moscow has three major tasks in Asia, namely building trust between Russia and Asian nations, increasing Russia's presence in regional affairs and boosting Russia's involvement in developing modern technologies and financial projects with Asian-Pacific countries.
"Colossal potential exists in interaction with Asian countries on development of Russia's eastern regions of Siberia and the Far East," Medvedev said.
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He said Russia's growing participation in regional affairs would simultaneously increase Moscow's weight in the eyes of the Western countries.
Medvedev also warned that Western sanctions would jeopardise the stability of the global financial and trade systems.
The US and its allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow in recent months over the latter's alleged interference in Ukraine crisis, with the latest EU sanctions targeting Russia's energy, defense and financial sectors.
