.EU, Russia in first major talks since gas cutoff
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia and the European Union tested the troubled waters of their relationship Friday, holding the first top-level meetings since a chilling two-week cutoff of Russian gas supplies via Ukraine.
European Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso, who angrily accused Russia and Ukraine of holding Europe hostage last month in their politically charged price dispute, was to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Barroso is leading a delegation of EU commissioners, including the energy, trade and foreign policy chiefs, in a bid to put relations back on track after their worst year ever.
It will be a tough task. Russia and the EU are linked closely by trade, but their ties have been strained for years by disputes on issues ranging from timber tariffs and overflight fees to the Kremlin's human rights record and its support for separatists in Georgia and Moldova.
The already-wary relationship was badly soured by Russia's recent war with Georgia and its subsequent recognition of the independence claims of the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Moscow's military buildup is increasingly a thorn in the side of the West.
Supplies of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine resumed less than three weeks ago, and the cutoff has deepened EU concerns about its reliance on Russia for a quarter of its natural-gas needs.
Russia lays full blame on Georgia for the war and on Ukraine for the gas cutoff. But that has done nothing to ease EU concerns about an increasingly assertive Russia. Those in turn have led to Kremlin accusations that the West is hopelessly biased in favor of former Soviet republics whose leaders strive to shed Moscow's influence.
The EU suspended talks with Russia on a new partnership agreement after its invasion of Georgia. In October it announced a decision to resume those talks, drawing accusations from the U.S. and other critics that it was bowing to Russian aggression, but no visible progress has been made.
The EU now hopes Moscow will want to soothe relations as its economy is hit by the global meltdown and sharply lower prices for oil, the backbone of its economy. The EU is by far Russia's largest export market.
Ahead of the visit, Barroso said he would not dwell on the gas cutoff and would try to improve relations across the board. It is "urgent to get this relationship to work to our best advantage, acknowledging our differences, (and) work together to build up trust," he said Thursday.
The EU's agenda includes the global economic crisis, energy relations, climate change, Russia's World Trade Organization membership, prospects for concluding a "strategic partnership" and sorting out enduring trade spats such as Russian wood export duties and high charges on Siberian overflights.
But Russia and the 27-nation EU are also at odds over broader issues including energy and security.
Russia has rejected EU pleas to join the Energy Charter, a treaty that aims to boost the rule of law in energy matters, and has made noises about the need for an entirely new arrangement. Russia is also pushing for a new trans-Atlantic treaty governing security in Europe, which many in the West see as a bid to undermine NATO.
MyWay
The unconditional surrender of the west is underway.
European Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso, who angrily accused Russia and Ukraine of holding Europe hostage last month in their politically charged price dispute, was to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Barroso is leading a delegation of EU commissioners, including the energy, trade and foreign policy chiefs, in a bid to put relations back on track after their worst year ever.
It will be a tough task. Russia and the EU are linked closely by trade, but their ties have been strained for years by disputes on issues ranging from timber tariffs and overflight fees to the Kremlin's human rights record and its support for separatists in Georgia and Moldova.
The already-wary relationship was badly soured by Russia's recent war with Georgia and its subsequent recognition of the independence claims of the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Moscow's military buildup is increasingly a thorn in the side of the West.
Supplies of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine resumed less than three weeks ago, and the cutoff has deepened EU concerns about its reliance on Russia for a quarter of its natural-gas needs.
Russia lays full blame on Georgia for the war and on Ukraine for the gas cutoff. But that has done nothing to ease EU concerns about an increasingly assertive Russia. Those in turn have led to Kremlin accusations that the West is hopelessly biased in favor of former Soviet republics whose leaders strive to shed Moscow's influence.
The EU suspended talks with Russia on a new partnership agreement after its invasion of Georgia. In October it announced a decision to resume those talks, drawing accusations from the U.S. and other critics that it was bowing to Russian aggression, but no visible progress has been made.
The EU now hopes Moscow will want to soothe relations as its economy is hit by the global meltdown and sharply lower prices for oil, the backbone of its economy. The EU is by far Russia's largest export market.
Ahead of the visit, Barroso said he would not dwell on the gas cutoff and would try to improve relations across the board. It is "urgent to get this relationship to work to our best advantage, acknowledging our differences, (and) work together to build up trust," he said Thursday.
The EU's agenda includes the global economic crisis, energy relations, climate change, Russia's World Trade Organization membership, prospects for concluding a "strategic partnership" and sorting out enduring trade spats such as Russian wood export duties and high charges on Siberian overflights.
But Russia and the 27-nation EU are also at odds over broader issues including energy and security.
Russia has rejected EU pleas to join the Energy Charter, a treaty that aims to boost the rule of law in energy matters, and has made noises about the need for an entirely new arrangement. Russia is also pushing for a new trans-Atlantic treaty governing security in Europe, which many in the West see as a bid to undermine NATO.
MyWay
The unconditional surrender of the west is underway.
posted by madtom at 8:48 AM
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