France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) will continue the dialogue they started when being opposite numbers.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Vladimir Putin’s French Première
// It’s going to be something more than just a visit of a Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin is going to Paris in his new capacity
Vladimir Putin is starting his first “far abroad” visit in his capacity as Russian government Chairman. Today he’ll meet with France’s Prime Minister François Fillon, and with his former opposite number – President Nicolas Sarkozy. According to the information of Kommersant, the agenda of the forthcoming negotiations doesn’t fully reflect the range of matters that the counterparts will have to discuss. At the same time, as Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin will address problems of a presidential scale in Paris.
A challenging visitor
The two-day visit to France is Vladimir Putin’s first “far abroad” tour (last Friday he visited Belarus) as Head of the Russian government, not the state. Russian MFA First European Department Director Oleg Belous, who is in charge of relations with France, told Kommersant that today Vladimir Putin will meet French Prime Minister François Fillon, and then he will hold talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy. “As a rule, France’s presidents receive our PMs and vice versa. So, there will be no protocol problems this time,” Oleg Belous assured Kommersant.
At that, according to a high-ranking French diplomat, the forthcoming visit of Vladimir Putin has caused quite a turmoil with France’s Foreign Office. “Everyone understands that he’s not a mere Prime Minister.” Usual diplomatic routine suggests full-scale negotiations of the Chairman of a foreign state’s government with his French opposite number, and a brief meeting with the French President. For these talks, diverse documents are prepared. But they presume in Paris that the situation in Vladimir Putin’s case is quite different: Formally, he is Head of the government, but in practice he can thrash out a far wider range of matters. Finally, according to the interlocutor of Kommersant, France’s Foreign Ministry prepared a single set of documents for François Fillon and Nicolas Sarkozy, which embraces a wide spectrum of issues.
The PM’s agenda
According to Oleg Belous, the official agenda of the talks quite complies with the level of the PM’s visit, “Vladimir Putin will discuss various aspects of economic cooperation with top French politicians: energy, cosmonautics and aircraft construction.” The sources of Kommersant with Russia’s Foreign Office and Government Apparatus claim that the key issues to be touched upon during energy talks will be the following: the French Total’s participation in mining the Shtokman gas-condensate field, cooperation of Russia’s Atomenergomash and France’s Alstom, as well as joint projects of Inter Unified Energy System and Electricite de France.
Officials with the MFA of Russia told Kommersant that the agenda of the visit will also comprise discussion of Russian and French outer space programs “Soyuz” (launching of a Russian carrier rocket from the Kourou space center in French Guiana) and “Ural” (developing carrier rockets). Besides, the Prime Minister may discuss the partnership of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and Airbus concerning the construction of a regional Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ), and promotion of the Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft in France.
At the same time Kommersant found out that none of these projects is so problematic that politicians at the highest level must discuss them. For example, yesterday Gazprom spokesperson Sergey Kupriyanov assured Kommersant that “there are no problems with Total regarding the mining of the Shtokman gas field,” and CEO of the gas giant Alexey Miller won’t go with the Prime Minister to France. All the same, according to the information of Kommersant, in the course of his visit, Vladimir Putin may meet with the French company’s General Director Christophe le Margerie, but yesterday representatives of Total denied such a possibility.
High-ranking officials of Roskosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) are not going to Paris, too. “The “Soyuz” and “Ural” projects have developed successfully. The existing problems are of technical character, and Russia’s government doesn’t need to address them,” Roskosmos officials told Kommersant. As to the energy issues included in the PM’s agenda, the situation is the same. In Rosatom it was confirmed to Kommersant that there are no disputed issues between Atomenergomash and Alstom, and the head of the corporation, Sergey Kirienko, is not going to Paris. Inter Unified Energy System CEO won’t go to France, too. Officials from UAC and Rosoboronexport won’t accompany Vladimir Putin as well.
Presidential sight
It means that the discussion of the majority of the questions planned for the official talks in the framework of the Russian PM’s visit won’t require much effort from Vladimir Putin. And after his talks with François Fillon, the counterparts will be able to frankly state that all the matters have been settled. Key points will be thrashed out during the talks of the Russian Prime Minister and the French President. At that, according to the information of Kommersant, they will touch upon a wider range of issues than the joint projects of Russian and French companies. “Under the present circumstances we don’t regard France as just a partner of this country,” an official with Russia’s Foreign Ministry told Kommersant. “July 01 Paris assumes EU presidency. Hopefully, this half a year of France’s chairmanship will be fruitful in terms of cooperation between Russia and the EU.”
So far conclusion of new partnership and cooperation agreement is the most urging problem in the relations between Russia and the EU. The previous agreement, signed as far back as 1994, expired December, 2007, so, Moscow and Brussels have been trying hard for two years to work out another draft. But the beginning of negotiations has been canceled permanently. For the first time that was of case November 2006 ahead of the Russia-EU summit in Helsinki because of Poland’s veto. Early last year Lithuania joined Poland, that’s why 2007 the Russia-EU summit in Yekaterinburg in June and the one in Mafra (Portugal) in October were a failure. No sooner than the day before yesterday had all the EU member-states agreed to lift their vetoes, and Brussels finally approved of launching negotiations with Moscow. As things stand now, they are to begin at the next Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiysk, which will be held from June 26-27.
The forthcoming talks are likely to be challenging. Vice-president of the European Parliament Marek Siwiec explained it to Kommersant, “The new agreement will be concluded in quite different circumstances, and Moscow must comply with European requirements.” In the estimate of the sources of Kommersant in the diplomatic circles, concluding a new agreement can be procrastinated because of the multiple disputed issues (in the energy sphere especially), and only such influential EU members as Germany and France can help Russia foster them.
France’s role is even more significant now since it will have the EU presidency within half a year after the negotiations in Khanty-Mansiysk are started, and it will be able to determine the line of the European Union. A high-ranking French diplomat told Kommersant that Paris wishes the agreement with Russia would be signed as soon as possible, with Russian interests taken into account. Last week French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Moscow, and after holding talks with his Russian opposite number Sergey Lavrov he promised “to suggest Russia a time-table of elaboration of a new agreement with the EU as early as May or June.”
The conclusion of a new agreement with the EU appears to become the key point during the talks of Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy. Moreover, Moscow reckons that the French President will contribute to signing other important agreements with the EU. “During his visit, the Prime Minister may bring up in a private talk with Nicolas Sarkozy an increase in Russia’s quota of supplying nuclear fuel to the European market,” a source with Russia’s atom industry told Kommersant. “The declaration of Corfu, restricting the market share of non-European suppliers to 20%, has already expired. This mechanism of latent limitation discriminates Russia, that’s why it is unacceptable. With its EU presidency, France can press for the alteration of this mechanism.”
Vladimir Putin’s good personal rapport with Nicolas Sarkozy has been another factor prompting Moscow’s decision to choose France as its crucial ally. After France’s President Jacques Chirac, Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (who actually didn’t part with Vladimir Putin for a long time) left the political arena, the new French President turned out the most reliable partner of the Russian leader. As an example of their close friendship, one can recollect Total’s participation in mining the Shtokman gas field after a telephone talk of Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy last July. It seems like the tradition of addressing the most vital questions of Russian foreign policy by Vladimir Putin and heads of state whom he has personal contact with, can keep on under Russia’s new President Dmitry Medvedev. And Mr Putin’s moving from the Kremlin into the White House won’t impede this.
Alexander Gabuev
All the Article in Russian as of May 29, 2008
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