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Russian Threats Loom Over Historic EU Summit

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  • Russian Threats Loom Over Historic EU Summit

    RUSSIAN THREATS LOOM OVER HISTORIC EU SUMMIT
    Renata Goldirova

    EUobserver.com
    http://euobserver.com/9/ 26662
    Sept 1 2008
    Belgium

    EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders are holding an emergency summit on
    EU-Russia relations on Monday (1 September) - the first such meeting
    since the 9/11 attacks in the US. But the union is split on how to
    handle Moscow, with the Kremlin threatening to retaliate against
    Europe if it adopts punitive sanctions.

    Georgia has high hopes for the EU emergency summit (Photo:
    ec.europa.eu) Print Comment article The French EU presidency called
    the summit after Russia launched a military incursion into Georgia
    in response to its attack on the rebel-held town of Tskhinvali in
    South Ossetia. Russia subsequently recognised Georgia's two breakaway
    regions - South Ossetia and Abkhazia - as independent states.

    Europe has already condemned Moscow's actions, but the majority of
    EU states is not in the mood to go beyond words, with France, Italy,
    Spain, Finland, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus all
    speaking out against punitive measures before the summit began.

    The French EU presidency will on Monday table a "balanced and firm
    text" that falls short of sanctions, AFP reports. "It will not propose
    sanctions, but very precise undertakings," French foreign minister
    Bernard Kouchner said over the weekend.

    UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a statement in The Observer on
    Sunday, called on EU colleagues to "review - root and branch - our
    relationship with Russia," however. He suggested excluding Russia
    from the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations.

    British diplomats also told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that London
    will push for mini-sanctions, such as an EU visa ban on South Ossetia
    and Abkhazia officials as well as Russian citizens active in politics
    in the two Georgian regions.

    Poland, Sweden, the Czech republic, the Baltic States - Estonia,
    Lithuania and Latvia - are also keen to take a tough line, diplomats
    say.

    But Poland's position is ambiguous, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk
    telling Newsweek magazine there should be no more EU-Russia summits
    until Russia pulls soldiers from Georgia, then adding he does not
    want Warsaw to become isolated in a radical stance.

    Meanwhile, Germany is locked in an internal dispute. The Conservative
    party in Germany's coalition government backs the British G8 suggestion
    "as long as Russia is not prepared to find a solution under the
    framework of the United Nations," the IHT reports.

    But the Social Democrats have warned against cornering Russia. "Moscow
    deserves criticism for its behaviour, but that doesn't change the fact
    that security and stability in Europe can only be achieved with and
    not against Russia," German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
    said, according to Reuters. "Europe would only be hurting itself if
    we were to get full of emotion and slam all the doors shut."

    The last time the EU imposed sanctions on Russia was following its
    invasion of Chechnya in 1994, with Europe freezing the ratification
    of a Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, which entered into force
    in 1997.

    Russian warning

    In the run up to the EU summit, the Kremlin - which controls some
    25 percent of EU oil and gas imports - issued a number of hostile
    messages to the West.

    President Dmitry Medvedev said on Russian TV on Sunday: "We do not
    favour sanctions on the whole and only resort to them in extreme
    circumstances. [But] if required, we could pass the relevant
    legislation."

    Mr Medvedev added that his country was set to restore its influence
    in what he labelled "regions of privileged interest" and to defend
    "the life and dignity" of Russian citizens "no matter where they are
    located," raising fears of further Russian interventions in Moldova
    or Ukraine.

    "The EU is not in a position to throw Russia out of anywhere," Russia's
    ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told Reuters, describing any
    attempt to isolate Russia as "short-sighted and unrealistic."

    Moscow stands alone on recognising the breakaway Georgia territories so
    far. Venezuela, Belarus and Central Asian states have given rhetorical
    support but stopped short of recognition. Two other separatist enclaves
    - Transniestria in Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan - are
    the only other entities tohave recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

    Russia has also taken a financial hit from the crisis, with French bank
    BNP Paribas estimating investors recently pulled â~B¬17 billion out of
    the country. The Russian stock market has plunged since fighting began.

    High hopes

    Expectations for the EU summit are high in Georgia, where up to 30,000
    people are expected to take part in an anti-Russia demonstration in
    Tbilisi on Monday. Demonstrations in Brussels and across Europe are
    also planned for the afternoon.

    The Georgian prime minister, foreign minister and integration minister
    are to meet with EU officials in Brussels on Monday but will not take
    part in the summit itself.

    Georgia estimates the conflict caused around â~B¬1.4 billion in
    damage to its infrastructure, with Georgia's entire annual state
    budget running to just â~B¬2 billion. The UN says the five-day war
    affected 160,000 people.

    The European Commission has already put aside â~B¬6 million in
    humanitarian aid, with member states promising some â~B¬8.4 million
    more.

    The EU's summit package for Georgia is expected to feature proposals
    for a major donors conference and an EU monitoring team to take part
    in an international peacekeeping force in the conflict zones.

    The EU is also set to strengthen political and economic relations
    with Georgia, a French diplomat said, including moves toward a
    free-trade deal and easier visa regulations for Georgian people
    traveling to Europe.

    --Boundary_(ID_CWKc7UsnohbE89T36OlKSg)--
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