Brussels, 11/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - The conflict in Chechnya and allegations of serious violations of human rights committed by Russian armed forces largely dominated the third meeting of the EU/Russia Cooperation Council, held in Luxembourg on Monday between the EU foreign ministers and their Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov with the participation of Messrs. Solana and Patten. But the obvious differences between the EU and Russia on this issue clearly did not have a real negative or paralysing impact on the intensification of long-term bilateral relations between the EU and Moscow. On the contrary, the meeting, defined as "very productive and useful", allowed them to "consolidate" the bases for cooperation (notably within the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement) allowing for relations to be strengthened in future, the Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council, Jaime Gama, told the press on Monday. Intensification of relations between the EU and Russia is essential to maintaining stability, security and peace in Europe and in the world, said Gama.
Throughout the meeting (as well as in the many bilateral meetings he had on Monday with a large number of EU ministers), Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov urged the EU to show understanding vis-à-vis the firmness of the Russian forces against Chechnya's "terrorists and bandits". The war is practically over, he said. Also for Mr. Ivanov, what counts is that the EU and Russia remain side by side and that they further develop their relationship. "Today, we reaffirmed our mutual interest for further developing our strategic partnership", said Ivanov after the meeting, "and our political will to deepen our relations in the interest of security, peace and stability". Mr. Ivanov also expressed the hope that the EU/Russia Summit of 17 May in Moscow would provide additional "impetus" to the positive development of the partnership.
Chechnya was also right at the top of the agenda for the (very limited) working dinner that ended the Cooperation Council late evening. When meeting the press (before the dinner), very few substantial statements were made on either side, other than Mr. Ivanov reiterating the will of the Russian Government to find a "political solution" for Chechnya, stipulating that Russia intended implementing this political solution while remaining in "close contact" with the EU. A stabilisation plan and political status for Chechnya is being prepared, said the Minister, adding: "Russia has no intention of slamming the door, we want to pursue the political dialogue with all international organisations, including the EU". Next week, Austrian Foreign Minister Mrs. Ferrero-Waldner will be in Moscow in her role as President-in-Office of the OSCE. "It will be another opportunity to discuss Chechnya", Mr. Ivanov added. One of the main questions raised Monday evening in the meeting was that of whether or not the countries of the EU would back the recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe over expelling Russia.
In the Cooperation Council also turned to the many commercial problems between the EU and Russia, but there was no real breakthrough on any of these issues. It does, however, seem that some progress was made on opening up the Russian market for alcohol, the protection of intellectual property rights and financial services. Regarding the problem of scrap, the Russians did not budge, meaning that the recent measures restricting the import of Russian steel products onto the EU market remain in force. For the rest, in its Joint Conclusions, the Cooperation Council simply stressed that all these problems would have to be "resolved rapidly" in the framework of the structures and on the basis of the rules contained in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
The Coordination Council also formally approved an joint action plan against organised crime. The bodies of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement were instructed to take the necessary measures for its practical implementation.
Conclusions of the "General Affairs" Council on Chechnya
Previously, in the framework of the debate in the "General Affairs" Council on Chechnya, the foreign ministers of the Fifteen adopted conclusions in which they "deplored" both the "great suffering" of the Chechen population and the "alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law". "The recent decisions and recommendations by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the discussions by the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva reflect this serious concern of European public opinion with the conflict," say the Fifteen.
The council also backed the call made to the Russian government by the UN High Commissioner for human rights in favour of the formation of a independent national investigative committee that may bring light to the allegations of massive violations of human right by Russian forces in Chechnya.
Generally speaking, the Member States conclusions also express the hope that the election of the new President Mr. Putin will enable them to launch EU/Russia relations and the development of a true "strategic partnership".