European leaders will sit down Friday with Russia's
Dmitry Medvedev hoping to renew economic ties with their biggest energy supplier
despite deep divisions over the war inGeorgia.
European Union members expect France's
President Nicolas Sarkozy to make clear their anger over Russia's violation of Georgian sovereignty, and
yet somehow also to move towards a new strategic partnership with Moscow.
The leaders will meet in the French Riviera resort of Nice on the eve of the
G20 world financial summit in Washington, where
Europe will also seek to enlist Russia
as an ally in its bid to reform the world financial system.
Medvedev has slammed the U.S.,
accusing it of precipitating the global crisis by boosting growth on the back
of a "financial bubble," and has echoed Europe's
calls for an overhaul of the world economic system.
Sarkozy and other E.U. leaders want Sunday's summit to push for a swift and
aggressive reform of free-market rules, and Moscow's vote could help overcome resistance
from President George W. Bush's lame duck administration.
But ahead of this latest twice-yearly E.U.-Russia summit, officials admitted
August's crisis had severely undermined relations with Russia.
"It's clear that the Georgian events have undermined the trust. We had a
good summit in June and we had re-engaged with each other, but there has been a
major negative impact on the level of trust," a senior E.U. official said.
Nevertheless, he and other European Commission staff said the summit would move
beyond this dispute and on to the problems of the moment.
"One of the subjects is the global economic crisis. It is anticipated that
the bulk of the discussions on the plenary session will be on this
subject," one said, at a background briefing for reporters in Brussels.
Russia's
ambassador to the E.U. agreed.
"The question of the financial crisis has come to fore. It is on this
question that we will begin our conversation at the summit, especially as it
comes on the eve of the G20," Vladimir Chizov told reporters. "This
will allow us not only to compare our positions with those of our key E.U.
partners, but also to find areas in which we can work together.
"In our approaches, the E.U. and Russia have more in common that
with other countries. We have every reason to cooperate," he said.
While France, Italy and Germany
want a rapid rapprochement with Moscow, former
Soviet satellites in Eastern Union and, to a lesser extent, the U.K. and Sweden
are determined to maintain pressure over the Georgia conflict.
"We are very clear that the E.U. doesn't accept the status quo in Georgia and we'll say very clearly at the summit that the territorial integrity
of Georgia has to be re-established," the E.U. official said.
Despite this, however, Brussels and Moscow will soon restart
talks on a partnership agreement which will replace a ten-year-old accord as a
general framework for diplomatic and economic relations between the two powers.
The summit will address what he described as "unnecessary irritants"
in the relationship, including disputes over Siberian overflight rights, export
duties on Russian timber and protectionist Russian agriculture policies.
Despite these concerns, Russia
has become a key trade partner for Europe. Between
2000 and 2007, the value of goods traded between the Union and Moscow nearly
tripled, according to figures released this week, which placed Russia as
Europe's third biggest partner after China and the U.S.
Last year, E.U. nations imported EUR144 billion worth of products - mainly oil
and gas - from Russia, and exported goods worth EUR89 billion. Growth continued
in the first half of 2008 before the economic crisis began to bite.
The E.U. leaders, Sarkozy and the president of the European Commission Manuel
Barroso, will meet Medvedev and Russian officials Friday in the SardePalace
in Nice, for four hours plus a working lunch. Following the gathering, the
leaders will fly separately to Washington
for Saturday's G20 summit.