Brussels, 30/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - Moscow is becoming impatient, but is not apparently worrying too much, over the extra delay in opening talks with the EU on a new partnership agreement, after Lithuania maintained its reservations with regard to adopting a mandate for the talks at the External Relations Council on 29 April (see EUROPE 9653). “Russia is prepared to wait until the EU is ready begin negotiations on the new cooperation agreement,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the EU troika meeting with Russia in Luxemburg on Tuesday evening. What matters for Moscow is that the new partnership is founded on an “equitable basis” and not on “artificial and ideological problems” created by some, Lavrov said. Here, he was tacitly referring to the conditions set by Lithuania and Poland for the negotiations on the new agreement to be launched.
Slovenian Foreign Minister and President of the Council of the EU Dimitrej Rupel, who chaired the EU troika, sought to give reassurances to the press, indicating that the negotiations could begin at the EU-Russia Summit in Khanty-Mansiisk (Siberia) on 26-27 June at the latest. “We have yet to fully finalise our consultations within the EU, but the negotiating mandate will be ready in a few weeks,” he said. “We have many common interests with the Russian Federation which is a very serious partner of the European, Union. Furthermore, Lithuania is a respected member of the Community and a country very close to the current Presidency. That is why I hope that we will be able, on the one hand, to find a formula that will suit Lithuania and, on the other, make progress towards opening negotiations on the new strategic partnership agreement with Russia,” he went on. It is planned that Rupel will travel very shortly to Vilnius to try to find a way out of the impasse with Lithuanian leaders.
Despite transitory difficulties, EU-Russia relations had “great potential”, Rupel said. He welcomed the made “positive and promising comments” made by new Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who will take up office on 7 May. These comments, he said, augured well for the coming years. Lavrov confirmed that the change at the head of Russia would not bring any major changes to foreign policy. “Continuity” was the watchword and this included with regard to the EU, to which Moscow would continue to grant “strategic priority”, even though relations were not developing “as quickly as we would wish”, he said.
Abkhazia/South Ossetia. A large part of the discussions with Lavrov was spend on the situation in Georgia, especially Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Last week, the EU repeated its call that Georgia's territorial integrity should be maintained, and openly criticised Russia's attempts to establish official links with the authorities in the two breakaway republics. On Tuesday 29 April, just before Lavrov set off for Luxemburg, Moscow announced that Russia was increasing in peacekeeping forces in Abkhazia and South Ossetia “following provocation” from Georgia. This announcement brought a very strong reaction from Tbilisi, which accused Moscow of preparing for “large scale military aggression”. On Tuesday evening, Lavrov submitted documents to the EU troika, documents which, he said, provided “political and legal justification” for increasing Russian troop numbers in the region. Lavrov said that troop numbers were still below the maximum authorised. Even by increasing the number of peacekeeping troops to the maximum allowed, Russia was still complying with the mandate of the Community of Independent State's (CIS), he told press. Sitting beside the Russian minister, EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana was openly critical of the Russian decision: “Even if the increase of the peacekeepers is within the limits, it's not a wise measure to decide it now”. Lavrov refuted the accusation that Russia was preparing for war with Georgia. That was not the case, “not at all”, he said. However, he went on, “if the leaders of Georgia push to solve the problems by force, we would be forced to retaliate to protect our citizens”.
Trade, human rights. Rupel also assured Lavrov of EU support for the quick conclusion of Russia's WTO talks. Immediately afterwards, and once talks on the partnership agreement had begun, the EU would be prepared to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement with Russia, he said. The meeting with Lavrov also discussed human rights. Rupel asked Russian to ratify the protocol on the reform of the European Court of Human Rights as quickly as possible. (H.B.)