THE HAGUE, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in the Netherlands that he was happy with current economic relations between the two countries, and supported stronger business links. "Of course, it would be undesirable to wait for bilateral contacts to be established for a few more centuries, but economic ties have been recently developing as never before," Putin said at a meeting with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
The meeting focused on trade and economic cooperation, the Netherlands being one of Russia's leading European partners.
"In 2004, [bilateral] trade stood at $16.6 billion," Putin said. "This year we can realistically reach $25 billion."
Russia and the Netherlands can promote cooperation in the energy, agricultural-industrial, high-tech, and food sectors, he said, adding that the Dutch government had encouraged investment in the Russian economy.
The two leaders also discussed Russia-EU relations. Putin said after the meeting with Balkenende that the Dutch leadership supported Russia's integration with the European Union.
Balkenende said that the Netherlands was interested in the construction of a gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea (the North European Gas Pipeline) and stable energy supplies.
On the issue of terrorism, the Russian president warned European leaders against letting terrorists abuse democratic principles to undermine democracy. "We mustn't let them [terrorists] use the principles of democracy to fight democratic institutions," he said. "The fight against terrorism must be proportionate to threats that terrorists pose to our society, but we should of course act [using] civilized methods."
After the meeting with Balkenende, Putin visited the seat of the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague. He said the court's role should be strengthened: "The existence of the International Court [of Justice] within the UN system is the most important condition for the legitimacy of the organization, not least in the context of developing and carrying out an integrated strategy to counter new challenges and threats."
Putin also said Russian was committed to the supremacy of international law. "In Russia this is one of the fundamental principles of the constitutional system," he said. "Commitment to international law is also the basis of our foreign policy and security."
At the end of his official visit to the Netherlands, the Russian leader thanked the Dutch for their hospitality.
"I am very pleased that our relations are developing so well. This is due not only to our great past but also our future interests," he said.
