Luxembourg, 28/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - Monday's meeting in Luxembourg between the ministerial troika of the EU and the Russian minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Lavrov, helped preparation of the “road maps” for implementing the four spaces the EU and Russia are setting up over the next few years. However, substantial problems still need to be resolved over the next few weeks if the four EU/Russia summit documents are to be adopted on 10 May in Moscow. The four spaces, as we know, involve the following areas: economy, security/freedom/justice, external security, research/education/culture. Whereas the work on the fourth space are almost closed, as confirmed on Monday by Mr Lavrov. Discussions on spaces 1 and 2 (economy and security/justice/freedom) are more laborious. Those on the external security space are extremely difficult. On the last point, Russia does not agree on the common neighbourhood concept that the EU had proposed for attempting to resolve, together, the existing political problems in counties such as Moldova and Georgia. Moscow prefers to keep its hands free with regard to regional conflicts in its own backyard, as Mr Lavrov affirmed to the press on Monday. He said that the idea of common neighbourhood “no longer existed” and that Russian-European cooperation on “neighbourhood problems” should be developed by using the bilateral instruments of each party with regard to the countries in question. The EU High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, admitted that there were major divergences, “points of difference that any friends should have” but thought that the meeting had been “good and constructive” and that it had allowed to help push forward the process on the four spaces. External security, Mr Solana said that, “I am sure we have the means to handle the situation in neighbouring countries”. External security will also be discussed at another meeting of the Permanent Partnership Council of the EU and Russia on 1 April in Luxembourg. Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg for foreign affairs and president of the EU Council underlined that the four road maps had to be adopted simultaneously “in the form of a package. It is very important for the EU…Today, the sprit and desire on both sides to come to an end” on the work on the four spaces and put them into practice at the 10 May summit. Asselborn said that they still had a lot of work to do over the next few weeks but that they would “sit it together”. The Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner also said that Monday's meeting had been an important step forward towards the overall agreement on the four road maps, “at the earliest possible”, by the 10 May summit.
The nuclear agreement Russia concluded with Iran last weekend (which will involve Moscow providing Tehran with nuclear fuel and the ability to build nuclear reactors for producing nuclear energy for civilian and peaceful means: see p 7) was also discussed by the Troika and Mr Lavrov. The EU is not preoccupied by this agreement and it is not afraid of it undermining diplomatic efforts made by Germany, France and the United Kingdom (E-3) to preventing Iran developing the atomic bomb, affirmed Asselborn and Solana. Mr Asselborn informed the press that, “we have reiterated our position, according to which the prescriptions of the IAEA and the treaty on non-proliferation should be respected”. He also indicated that these guarantees were made by Russia. Solana also underlined that Russia supported diplomatic discussions with Europeans and that it shared the common objective of Europeans and the USA with regard to Iran. Lavrov said that they did not want to see more weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. He also stated that it was necessary for the USA to play a positive role in the process.
On Monday in Luxembourg they also discussed the Middle East Peace Process, notably the international conference supporting Palestine on 1 March in London (p 7). The EU and Russia will be in London with more or less the same hopes, said Mr Solana. Lavrov also said that the EU and Russia's positions on the Middle East are “very close”.
New EU/Russia dialogue on human and minority rights will be launched on Tuesday during a meeting of experts (EUROPE 26 February). Lavrov confirmed that Russia intended to raise the question of the Russian minorities in the Baltic countries at this meeting.