Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

EU Diplomats Keen To Avoid Russia Controversy

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • EU Diplomats Keen To Avoid Russia Controversy

    EU DIPLOMATS KEEN TO AVOID RUSSIA CONTROVERSY
    Philippa Runner

    EUobserver.com
    Today @ 09:27 CET
    Belgium

    EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The French EU presidency is expected to endorse
    the Russia-Georgia ceasefire, offer humanitarian aid and urge EU unity
    in a statement after an EU foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday
    (13 August), with Paris keen to avoid controversy on who to blame
    for the crisis.

    Preparatory discussions by EU diplomats on Tuesday saw a group of
    former communist states speak in "sharp language" about Russia, but
    the tone was "less radical than they used for their domestic press,"
    one diplomat who attended the debates told EUobserver.

    The foreign ministers meeting room in Brussels (Photo: eu2007.de) Print
    Comment article "The presidency thinks, right now, it's better to focus
    on problem-solving, rather than trying to go into characterisation of
    the war, who started what, who reacted, and the EU is united behind
    the idea," he added. "The presidency wants to preserve as much room
    for manoeuvre for future mediation as possible."

    Wednesday's EU statement will probably be a French declaration rather
    than a formal joint position by all 27 countries, an EU official said.

    "The situation is still evolving. It's not black and white. Of course,
    Georgia made some mistakes, Russia made some mistakes. But the idea
    now is to help mediation, to see what we can do from a humanitarian
    point of view."

    The declaration is likely to fall short of Georgian hopes, with
    Georgia's EU ambassador, Salome Samadashvili, saying she would
    like the EU to label Russia's behaviour as an "act of aggression,"
    condemn the bombing of the Georgian town of Gori, cast doubt on
    EU-Russia negotiations on a new strategic pact and reaffirm Georgia's
    territorial integrity.

    The foreign ministers meeting will begin with a briefing by France's
    Bernard Kouchner, who came to Brussels from Tbilisi on Tuesday night
    after taking part in talks between French president Nicolas Sarkozy
    and Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili.

    Russia and Georgia on Tuesday signed a Russian-drafted, six-point
    ceasefire plan which calls for troops to pull back and for
    international talks about the "modalities of security and stability"
    in Georgian separatist regions.

    Shockwaves

    The five day war erupted when Georgia fired on Russia-backed rebels
    in the Georgian province of South Ossetia last Friday (8 August)
    and Russia launched a massive retaliation, moving tanks deep into
    Georgian territory, mobilising its navy and ordering bombing raids.

    The fighting killed hundreds of civilians and shocked former communist
    EU states, as well as Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan, some
    of which fear that a newly-assertive Russia will try to undermine
    other pro-western neighbours in future.

    "The EU should say 'no' [to Russia's subjugation of Georgia] and push
    Russia out. This means tough language, sanctions [against Russia]
    and quick EU humanitarian intervention," a diplomat from one of the
    former communist EU states said, looking at the EU's policy options
    down the line.

    The Russian incursion into Georgia was clearly "military aggression"
    and should bear "costs" in terms of EU-Russia relations, but a
    suspension of the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement or a
    symbolic arms export embargo would be ineffective, European Council
    on Foreign Relations analyst, Nicu Popescu, said.

    The EU's main focus should instead be the swift deployment of an
    impartial, international peacekeeping force made up of UN or EU
    soldiers and civilian monitors followed by a donors' conference to
    help rebuild the war zone, he advised.

    "The first lesson of this crisis is that the old policy of
    EU non-engagement has encouraged both parties to escalate their
    actions. From an EU perspective, the first casualty is the theory that
    by getting more involved in Georgia, the EU will irritate Russia and
    provoke instability."

    Mr Sarkozy in Moscow on Tuesday spoke of the possibility of an EU
    peacekeeping mission, with Estonia quickly offering to send troops.

    Peacekeeping conundrum

    But creating a force that will be acceptable to all sides could prove
    hard, with Russia's NATO ambassador, Dmitry Rogozin, on Tuesday
    ruling out any Georgian component, while Ms Samadashvili said no
    Russian troops can take part.

    Last year, Russia and Estonia were involved in an ugly row
    over Tallinn's decision to move a Soviet-era statue from its city
    centre. And the current Russia-Georgia conflict has injected bitterness
    into international relations beyond Europe.

    Russia's Mr Rogozin at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday complained
    that NATO had listened to Georgian delegates but failed to convene a
    NATO Russia Council as planned, implying that Georgia ally, the US,
    secretly knew about Georgia's plans to attack the South Ossetia rebels
    last week.

    "I suspect the American allies will be ashamed to discuss this with
    their European colleagues," he said.
Working...
X