US advises EU to tread carefully with Russia

[TheLancinator]

US advises EU to tread carefully with Russia
By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON – As the European Union prepares to restart talks on cooperation with Russia, the United States is warning that the move could undermine Western attempts to rein in the Kremlin's aggressive foreign policy.

The EU diplomacy with Moscow comes as U.S.-Russian tensions have flared. It follows a threat by Russia this month to install new short-range missiles close to EU borders in response to nearby U.S. missile defense plans. Russia also has rejected a new U.S. cooperation offer on missile defense.

In recent weeks, U.S. diplomats have expressed concerns directly to European officials about resuming talks before Moscow has met the conditions of two cease-fire agreements negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy after Russia's short war with Georgia in August.

Sarkozy, who currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, is expected to announce the new talks at a summit Friday in Nice, France, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before they fly to Washington for a 20-nation economic meeting Saturday. The EU-Russia talks were postponed in September amid fallout from the war, but France has argued that the resumption will not undermine progress on Georgia.

France got backing to resume talks from all the EU member states but Lithuania this week. U.S. officials say they are unhappy about the signal sent to Moscow, although they acknowledge this is a matter for the EU to decide for itself.

"We cautioned the EU and its member states about starting the partnership and cooperation negotiations in light of Russia not fulfilling the cease-fire agreement," U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Merkel said in a statement to The Associated Press. Beginning the negotiations "before these commitments have been met could be misunderstood by Moscow, leaving it with the impression that the EU values its relationship with Russia far more that Moscow does with the EU."

The EU-Russia partnership talks, launched in 2007, aim for an agreement that would increase economic integration, tighten relations on justice and security, and boost cooperation in education and science. The 27-nation European Union is Russia's No. 1 client and No. 1 investor, and Russia is the EU's biggest energy source.

The United States took some consolation that Europe did not, as feared, justify the talks by saying that Russia had met the conditions of the two Georgian cease-fire agreements and threatened to repudiate such claims.

As the Bush administration enters its final months in power, U.S.-Russian relations have continued a downward course. Russia has rebuffed the latest U.S. attempts to negotiate a solution to a dispute over U.S. missile defense plans in Europe. The United States plans have been a major sense of tension, but Russian officials have made clear they prefer to wait on negotiations with the coming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Some officials from European Union countries with reservations about resuming talks with Russia have encouraged the United States to oppose the move.

A senior Lithuanian foreign ministry official was in Washington late last month seeking support, as the small Baltic country has sought to rally opposition. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus also has been outspoken. In an interview with the AP, he said Lithuania is working to ensure that a number of EU countries will oppose concluding any agreement with Russia before it backs down in Georgia.

"We are definitely not going to retreat from our position," he said. "When wrong is being done, we have to speak, even though we are a small country."