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Vietnam, have just finalized proce- dures with Indonesia, and are now negotiating about 10 more projects, some of which are in Southeast Asia.However, for those who still cling to such negative perspectives, I encourage them not to buy propagan- da which often comes from Western mass media, and to be sceptical about media that paints my country black, rather than to see both the black and white. Plenty of sources, such as Russian embassy websites, have accurate and updated information. Travel to Russia to discover who we really are. If people look at us with an open mind, they’ll find that we have a vast beautiful territory inhabited by a good bunch of nice, highly cultured and educated people.How is Russia preparing for the ASEAN Economic Community?The 21st century is for Asia; it’s an established fact that doesn’tneed additional justification. And when we talk about the region, we turn our eyes to ASEAN. The community might become another centre of economic power of the Asia-Pacific region, trigger new economic invest- ment, and be a financial network and platform that Russia and economic organizations we are a member of can participate in. Russia has long had policies to cooperate closely and become a partner with Asia-Pacific countries. Since the time of the Soviet Union we have had a very good relationship with Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. But we want to be a close partner of every ASEAN nation. We are ready to sign free trade agreements between the Eurasian Economic Union that we established in January 2015 and ASEAN. We signed the first free trade agreement with Vietnam in May 2015. I hope that Thailand will be another partner of the EEU, which will be a win-win situation.How would you describe Russia as a travel destination for Thais, and when is the best time to visit?Russia has a very diverse and vibrant culture. Our architecture, history, folk traditions, arts and crafts are fabulous. Our people are hospitable. In fact, you may be surprised that our people’s character is similar to Thais. We are the largest country in the world by area. Apart from the must-dos like visiting Moscow, Saint Petersburg and riding the Trans-Siberian Railway, our small towns are the cradles of our country’s old and unique traditions. Suzdal has a population of 10,000 and area of 15,000 square km, but on this tiny piece of land there are 53 churches, chapels and monasteries. And they were not built to attract tourists. They’re original and bursting with 1,100 years of history. We have plenty of museums and libraries. Saint Petersburg alone has 221 museums,Elite+ 7