* Interview with Mihai Ionescu, the secretary general of the National Association of Importers and Exporters of Romania (ANEIR)
Reporter: How would you describe the economic relation between Romania and Russia?
Mihai Ionescu: The economic and Commercial relationship between Romania and Russia is a special one, because it started off at a certain level in 1989, when Russia was our main partner, for exports as well as imports, and after the so-called revolution, an attitude of repulsion took place among the members of society, as well as among business people, towards Russia. There is even a certain shame among businesspeople when it comes to mentioning the word "Russia", even though they had contracts, they had ongoing businesses. Basically, the relationships between the two countries came to a halt.
Reporter: What is the reason behind this?
Mihai Ionescu: The reason was that continuing to have relationships with Russia basically amounted to continuing to support communist ideas in Romania. The same thing happened over there. The other countries of the former communist block, as well as the capitalist countries, had no shame at all when it came to continuing their relationships with Russia, and even growing them further, because Russia is a very big market, with a great financial potential. There are 140 million people living there, who need clothes and need to outfit their households, and we were the ones who provided them with consumer goods especially.
Reporter: I understand that both countries are guilty for the end of the bilateral commercial relations...
Mihai Ionescu: Yes, we are to blame, but so are our Russian partners. The Russian population was sick of wearing, consuming, furnishing its homes with communist products made in Romania. Just like Romanians wanted to have all the things they could from the West, even though
