The Russian President Vladimir Putin still considers, that the collapse of the USSR is the greatest geopolitical disaster in the history of the country, announced the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, reports Mir TV channel.

"It was a disaster, and it hurdled our development. All countries that are now independent, after the collapse of the Soviet Union fell behind in their development," Peskov said, according to Lenta. He added, that now "there is no need to talk about a reverse process." He added, that Russia needs an “integration in the former Soviet Union."

" We consider CIS from this point of view. This integration is a very difficult process, but there is no alternative. We can see, that there is growing a more dynamic and closer cooperation in the format of the EEU among the CIS, therefore, the logic of this new integration is paramount, "he added.