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Poland, Kosovo Still Stumbling Blocks in Russia-EU Relations
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met EU leaders on Monday to discuss a Russia-EU summit scheduled for May. Relations between Moscow and Brussels still appear to be soured by a dispute holding up talks on a new partnership pact and the Kosovo issue.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson set a grim tone three days before the talks in Luxembourg by saying that EU-Russia relations were at their lowest point since the Cold War. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterparts in the EU had to play down this pessimistic rhetoric.
European Union officials said on Monday they hoped to resolve a dispute holding up a partnership agreement with Russia before a summit next month.
After new talks with in Luxembourg, Russia stressed its desire to conclude the new pact to cover energy, trade, economic cooperation and human rights.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after the talks that the parties had reached some progress in settling the dispute, but there was still a lot to be done.
EU-member Poland has been blocking the launch of the talks due to the Russian meat ban. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski earlier restated his country’s position saying that Warsaw would not withdraw its veto from the talks unless Russia lifts the meat ban.
Russia and the EU are particularly at odds over the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo. The European Union backs a U.N. plan for its independence. Moscow says that the plan should have the support of Serbia, bitterly opposed to Kosovo’s independence.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 25, 2007
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