Putin's domestic row in spotlight at EU-Russia summit
Thu Nov 6, 7:51 AM ET Add World - AFP to My Yahoo!
ROME (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) strode into a EU-Russia summit designed to herald stronger ties between Moscow and the European Union (news - web sites) but faced questions about Chechnya (news - web sites) and the fate of oil giant Yukos.
Reuters
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The Russian leader had sought to pre-empt expected criticism on Yukos and Moscow's human rights record in Chechnya by softening his line on the oil giant on the eve of the summit, while at the same time launching a scathing attack on the EU for failing to do more to help Chechnya.
The European Commission (news - web sites) President Romano Prodi was expected to seek "clarification" on the arrest on fraud charges of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the powerful former Yukos chief and political opponent of the Russian leader.
"I hope the Russian government can help to dissipate doubts about this affair in order to restore an atmosphere of confidence in the Russian economy," warned EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in an interview published Thursday by the Russian daily Nezavissimaia Gazeta.
Prodi, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of current EU president Italy and Solana were among those taking part in the talks at a Renaissance villa outside Rome.
The Commission has said the treatment of Khodorkovsky threatened full cooperation on economic matters.
According to Italian sources, the summit first tackled Chechnya, where Russia's human rights record is a long-standing impediment in relations with Europe.
Putin blamed international terrorism for the conflict in the Caucasus republic adding that Russia had had to tackle it alone without international help, according to the sources.
The Russian leader had sought to deflect an attack by strongly criticising on Wednesday the EU's failure to do enough to help Chechenya's post war restructuring, to the extent that he believed "some political forces" were using the Chechen situation "to put pressure" on Moscow.
It will be the last such summit before the EU takes in eight of Moscow's former communist satellites when it enlarges to 25 member states next May.
Key topics on the agenda are the four areas that will form the nucleus of long-term Russia-EU ties, a common economic space, internal security, external security, and science, research and education.
Another key issue is the area of internal security and Russia's demand for visa-free movement between the two entities.
The Russian delegation is expected to press for a clear timetable for implementation of a visa-free regime, while Europe envisages a longer-term approach, demanding improved border controls by Moscow first.
"Russia and the EU understand the necessity of ending the visa barrier and ensuring real freedom of contact between people on the European continent," said Putin Wednesday.
Putin has already sought to calm EU nerves over the arrest of Khodorkovsky on the first day of a three-day trip to Europe that took in talks with Berlusconi on Wednesday and will end with discussion with President Jacques Chirac in Paris on Friday.
In Rome, Putin discounted any further move against Yukos, such as revoking its oil exploration licenses as suggested by one of his ministers. That, he said, "would give the impression that the state was trying to shut down the company
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