EU nations expect little change in Russia ties before Putin goes
(VIANA DO CASTELO) - EU foreign ministers said Friday that they do not expect major progress on ties with Russia before President Vladimir Putin steps down next year.
"We are now in a holding situation," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, after the ministers discussed prospects for the EU-Russia summit scheduled to be held in Mafra, Portugal, on October 26.
"We don't expect very much from Moscow, roughly everybody agrees on that. It will be the last (summit) under President Putin," he added after talks with fellow EU foreign ministers in the northern Portuguese town of Viana do Castelo.
"Everybody agrees that at the moment we don't have a strategic relationship with Russia. We all wish it would be there."
What was missing was "mutual trust and dialogue," he added.
The ministers began two days of talks in the picturesque port town with the upcoming EU-Russia summit at the top of their lunch talks menu.
The three preceding EU-Russia summits have largely demonstrated the strain in relations. Much of the difficulties centre around the European Union's recent expansion eastwards into former Soviet territory.
Rows have also arisen over US plans to base parts of an anti-missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland and the future status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo.
Concerns over European reliance on Russian oil and gas and the poisoning of a former Russian agent have also clouded the diplomatic waters.
Russia's parliamentary elections are set for December 2, a contest that analysts believe will be overwhelmingly won by pro-Kremlin parties.
Three months later, on March 2, Russia holds a presidential election to replace Vladimir Putin, who must step down at the end of his second term.
EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana echoed that the Russia summit may not bear much fruit.
"We are in an electoral period in Russia so we don't expect that the next summit will be a revolutionary summit," he said.
"It will be the last summit with President Putin. I'm sure that there are some specific issues that can be resolved -- not all," Solana added.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned against pushing Moscow away diplomatically, despite the troubled relationship.
"Democracy and human rights have had set backs it's true, but strategically it would be a great mistake if we pushed Russia eastwards, towards China, India and Iran," he said.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner described the relations as "a kind of paradox".
"On the one hand we have so many positive things but on the other hand there are also issues where we do not see eye to eye," she said.
Russia's parliamentary campaign season officially started Wednesday with the publication of a presidential decree in the official state newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Text and Picture Copyright 2007 AFP. All other Copyright 2007 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.
