Russia calls for continuity in relations with EU

New Europe. Lithuania blocks EU-Russia deal over refinery, frozen conflicts

Commenting on the results of a meeting of the Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council on April 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for continuity in the Russia- European Union relations.

“The foreign political course of Russia will be continued. It is consistently determined by the Russian leadership and reflects a wide consensus in the Russian society,” Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying. “Continuity is a term that is applicable to the Russian policy,” he added. “It is important to have continuity also in the Russia-European Union relations, first of all regarding the agreements on the creation of the four common spaces,” Lavrov said. The Russian foreign minister also said that at “today’s talks the sides reviewed interaction between Russia and the EU and discussed preparations for the Russia-EU summit that will be held in Khanty-Mansiisk on July 26-27.” He said the parties also “discussed the state of affairs regarding the preparation of the European Commission’s mandate on a new framework agreement.” “It will take several more weeks to finalise it,” Lavrov noted. The foreign minister said earlier that the beginning of the talks on the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Russia and the EU might be announced at the Khanty-Mansiisk summit. “If the thing happen as we expect, as implied (in the EU), then it would be possible to start the talks in the short run and announce (this) at the Khanty- Mansiisk summit,” the minister said. “It is interesting that they are giving signals to us that the EU is completing the settlement of problems with the approval of the mandate for the talks on a new agreement of partnership and cooperation,” Lavrov noted. “We are ready for these talks, the directives for our delegation were approved 18 months ago,” he added.

Lithuania blocked the beginning of talks on a strategic deal between the European Union and Russia on April 29 because of ongoing disputes with Moscow, hours before EU officials were due to meet Lavrov. The President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, chaired the ministerial meeting between the EU Troika and Russia in Luxembourg. Apart from Rupel, the EU delegation included the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero- Waldner, while the Russian delegation was headed by Lavrov.
Rupel noted that Russia is an important partner with which the EU wishes to intensify mutual cooperation. In this context, the Slovenian Foreign Minister assured his counterparts that the mandate for negotiations on the new PCA between the EU and Russia received overwhelming consent at the EU Council debate, with just a few aspects that still need clarification, so he expects this work to be concluded in the near future.

The meeting between the European Union’s presidency, currently held by Slovenia, the European Commission and Lavrov was overshadowed by concerns over Russia’s decision to send more troops into the breakaway Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“We understand and are watching very carefully the situation in Georgia. Russia has an absolute responsibility not to violate the territorial integrity of a neighbouring state, but Georgia also has its responsibility,” Britain’s Minister for Europe, Jim Murphy, said. Despite intense talks between the foreign ministers of the EU’s 27 member states in Luxembourg, Lithuania refused to approve a mandate under which the commission - the EU executive - would begin talks on the PCA with Russia. Presidency officials are now set to travel to Lithuania to discuss the problems ahead of a planned EU-Russia summit in June, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa). Ahead of the meeting, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas said that his country had four main objections to launching talks, and that the mandate proposed by the Slovenian government “is not satisfactory at the moment.” Those objections dealt with Russia’s closure of the pipeline supplying Lithuania’s only oil refinery, its attitude towards judicial and international cooperation, and its treatment of Georgia. Lithuania sought security, justice and solidarity regarding EU-Russia partnership talks, Vaitiekunas said. “We are certain that Lithuania’s concrete interests have to be taken into consideration and they must be named,” Vaitiekunas said. “In our opinion, the solidarity of the EU partners during the negotiations with Russia is an obligatory prerequisite to guarantee not just the Lithuanian interests, but also common interests of the European Union.” Lithuanian diplomats urged the EU to show solidarity in the partnership talks between Brussels and Moscow, which should be based on justice and security - including energy security. Relations between the EU and Russia are currently governed by a PCA negotiated with the government of Boris Yeltsin in 1997. The EU and Russia both want to draw up a new treaty, but the EU has so far failed to agree a mandate for talks. And on April 29 Vaitiekunas resisted the pressure from all 26 of his EU colleagues, insisting that his country’s concerns be heard in a move which raised eyebrows even among traditional allies.

“Of course we share Lithuania’s worries and the problems they listed, but we also see that it’s better to talk with the Russians about all those problems to solve them,” Paet said.

“We support Lithuania’s position, in the sense that all four issues are also extremely important to Latvia, and I believe to the EU as a whole ... At the same time, I personally believe that the best way to address those challenges is negotiations,” Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins said. Lithuania is almost totally reliant on Russian energy supplies, strongly supports Georgia’s pro-Western government and says that Russia is harbouring men who committed atrocities against Lithuanian pro-independence activists in 1991. But some observers point out that the largest of the Baltic states is also set to hold elections in October, with the party of Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas trailing in the polls - making the domestic political situation as important as the external one.