EU leaders wish to pull Moscow into a common economic and security space, writes RUADHÁN Mac CORMAICin Paris
GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev are due to arrive in the French seaside town of Deauville today for a summit on European security hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The two-day meeting is described by French officials as a tripartite “brainstorming” session in advance of an important Nato summit next month and France’s chairmanship of the G8 and G20 next year.
The French and German leaders see it as an opportunity to build on a recent warming of their relationships with Russia and to draw Moscow deeper into what the Elysée Palace calls “a common economic, human and security space in Europe”.
“Russia seems to us to be rediscovering the merits of a co-operative attitude towards western countries,” a senior French official said. “It will be a chance . . . to consolidate this positive change.”
While Moscow’s hope for a relaxing of visa requirements for Russian citizens travelling to the EU and the vexed topic of energy policy are likely to be aired, the summit will be dominated by security questions. Medvedev is likely to push his preference for a new security treaty in Europe, while France and Germany have rallied around Berlin’s idea for a less formal EU-Russia “political and security committee” to structure closer discussions.
The Europeans are keen to secure better co-operation between the Kremlin and Nato, and the Deauville summit takes places just a month before Atlantic alliance leaders meet in Lisbon to approve a new strategic doctrine.
Paris believes circumstances have made this a propitious moment to draw Russia into closer co-operation with Europe. The vaunted “reset” in relations between the US and Russia, symbolised by the agreement of a new nuclear arms reduction treaty between the Cold War adversaries, has given momentum to the EU-Russia dialogue, while Paris believes the growth of China has also helped by leading Russia to forge closer ties to its west.
With the prospect of Georgia and Ukraine joining Nato having grown more remote and memories of tensions over the Georgian conflict in 2008 receding somewhat, Moscow’s rhetoric has become noticeably less confrontational, while the Russians’ recent vote for sanctions against Iran, as well as their co-operation with Nato over Afghanistan, have been seen as encouraging signs in European capitals.
British ties with Russia have been strained by Moscow’s refusal to extradite a suspect in the murder in London of a former Russian agent, but some of Russia’s other bilateral relationships – notably with Poland – have been growing warmer. Sarkozy and Medvedev are known to get along, and Paris hopes the controversial sale of two Mistral warships to Russia will strengthen the political and commercial ties between them.
For all that, however, the Elysée Palace accepts the Russia-EU relationship remains fragile. “We’re not yet certain that Moscow has taken an irreversible strategic decision,” the senior French official said of its recent posture. The official pointed to the fact that Russia still says it regards Nato as the principal threat to its security, and to the difficult relationships between Moscow and neighbours such as Moldova, Romania, Georgia and the Baltic states.
One of the most sensitive issues on the Deauville agenda is the Nato-wide anti-missile defence system, which Russia has strongly opposed. With Paris and Berlin hoping to reassure Moscow that its concerns are unfounded, Sarkozy can tell Medvedev that France itself has had to come around to the idea. The French government had been sceptical about earlier, more ambitious versions the plan, but now says it is willing to provide funds and technical expertise, having been reassured that it complements rather than replaces the principle of nuclear deterrence.
Finally, even if this week’s agenda fails to stir discord inside the summit, the limited guest list surely will outside of it. Defending their decision not to invite the leaders of countries such as the UK, Spain, Italy and Poland – not to mention the US, which is cool on the idea of any common security initiatives that might undermine Nato – French officials stress no major decisions will be taken this week, and every small gathering gives rise to claims from non-attendees that they should be there.
“Germany and France, which Russia considers its principal partners in Europe, are well placed to convey the message,” the French official added.