PREVIEW: Russian officials dampen EU hopes of 'thaw' ahead of summit

By Alissa de Carbonnnel and Ben Nimmo Jun 24, 2008, 17:29 GMT

Moscow/Brussels - Russia and the European Union are about to relaunch talks on a wide-ranging political pact, shocking relations out of an 18-months paralysis on issues ranging from energy to trade regulations.

The EU's 27 member states agreed on a mandate to replace an expired partnership agreement last months, overcoming successive objections from Poland and Lithuania in time for the summit in the Siberian city of Khanty Mansiysk on June 26-27.

'One of the deliverables will be a political kick-start to negotiations on a future basic treaty,' Russia's envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said in Brussels on Monday.

A host of prickly issues could show quills during talks, but for both sides the summit will primarily be about testing the political will for compromise with no deadline in sight on reaching a new agreement.

Mandate in hand, the EU is keen on hearing whether Russia's new President Dmitry Medvedev will strike a softer line than his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who has been antagonistic over US missile defence plans, energy issues and Kosovo.

Despite such hard issues on the agenda including the so-called frozen conflict in Georgia, Medvedev painted an optimistic vision of a new 'Euro-Atlantic space from Vancouver to Vladivostok' in his first major foreign policy speech in Berlin.

EU external relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner lifted hope from Medvedev's speeches in his 'particular emphasis on the rule of law, human rights, democracy and also the modernisation of the economy,' she said in Moscow earlier this month.

Ferrero and other EU officials' designs to hold Medvedev to his promises could raise hackles in Russia, which has traditionally rebelled against criticism of a roll-back of democratic reforms under Putin.

Putin in his new role as premier has warned Western partners not to think working with Medvedev 'will be any easier.'

Chizhov on Monday made it clear that Russia would be no less adamant in its opposition to EU support for Kosovo's independence and US plans to site elements of a missile defence base in Poland and the Czech Republic.

'We have a question to ask: How does it come about that two EU member states are conducting negotiations with a third country (the United States) on missile defence behind the backs of their EU partners,' Russia's ambassador to the EU said.

Ahead of the summit, leaders in both camps saw the danger that EU-Russian relations could unravel in favour of bilateral ties, whether economically beneficial or politically sour.

It is a sign for Russia that it is premature to deal with the EU leadership when member countries use this dialogue to advance their own political interests, a Kremlin official said Tuesday.

Obstacles to new talks on a partnership agreement have been lodged by the EU's new, post-Soviet member states, slow to reconcile their political differences with Moscow.

But EU Trade Commisioner Peter Mandeslon speaking in Moscow last week highlighted that Western Europe has also been quick to opt for bilateral trade privileges over a common EU policy.

'Recent history,' he said, 'has produced zero-sum thinking on both sides, an inclination to see much of the relationship ... as power.'

Inviting EU delegates to Khanty-Mansiisk, a town of barely 60,000 in Siberia central to Russia's oil industry was a symbolic choice as energy questions dominate the summit's agenda, Russian officials said Wednesday.

EU officials said they were open to Moscow's interest in downstream investment in exchange for greater access to its vast energy sector, which experts say is badly in need of foreign capital and know-how to develop.

'Energy will be discussed in depth - don't forget what job the president used to do,' one EU official said Tuesday referring to Medvedev's chairmanship of energy giant Gazprom.

Despite praising the 'legal necessity' of achieving a new agreement with the EU, Russian officials this week were unwilling to cite a timeline.

Commenting on the foreign ministry's statements Tuesday, one radio announcer for Ekho Moskvye summed it up: 'Russia gave the EU to understand it wouldn't be upset if negotiations hit a dead-end.'

Russian officials said the schedule for EU talks made sure to allow for Medvedev to watch Russia face Spain in the Euro 2008, and perhaps the football will serve to break the ice as the two sides settle down to negotiations at noon Friday.