EU:EU LEADERS have agreed to postpone negotiations on a new partnership deal between Brussels and Moscow until Russian troops have withdrawn from Georgia, writes Jamie Smyth
They also strongly condemned Russia's decision to recognise the independence of the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia at an EU summit in Brussels yesterday, warning EU-Russia relations had reached a "crossroads". But the EU stopped short of proposing sanctions against Moscow despite expressing "grave concern" at the conflict in Georgia and Russia's "disproportionate reaction" to it.
"We expect Russia to behave in a responsible manner, honouring all its commitments. The union will remain vigilant," the summit concluded. It also agreed to send EU civilian monitors to check if Russia is sticking to the terms of a six-point ceasefire deal brokered by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Mr Sarkozy will travel to Moscow next week to verify whether Russia had fully adhered to a peace plan in time for the next round of partnership talks on September 15th. "The question is what does Russia want: confidence and co-operation or distrust and increasing tension?" said Mr Sarkozy. He added that Europe was united in a way it had not been at the time of the last emergency EU summit meeting held prior to the Iraq war in 2003.
But divisions remain between EU states over how to handle the conflict with Georgia and the bloc's relations with Russia. Poland and the Baltic states wanted the EU to impose sanctions against Moscow for refusing to withdraw its troops from Georgia. This suggestion was rejected by France, Germany and Italy which, throughout the crisis, have sought to maintain dialogue with Moscow, fearing retaliation.
Berlin had initially opposed a British request to suspend the EU's planned negotiations on a comprehensive partnership agreement with Russia, due to take place in the middle of the month. "The German position is that we should not break off dialogue with Russia," said German chancellor Angela Merkel as she arrived at the summit. But, under strong pressure from British prime minister Gordon Brown, EU leaders later agreed to suspend the partnership talks until Russian troops had withdrawn from Georgia.
Dr Merkel later said Russian president Dmitry Medvedev had signalled on Sunday Russia was prepared to withdraw its troops to pre-conflict positions in Georgia.
Russian news agency Interfax last night quoted an unnamed Russian foreign office official expressing regret at the EU decision to postpone talks on the partnership deal. But, earlier in Brussels, Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said the EU wanted the deal covering energy, trade and a host of other issues as much as Russia did.
The president of the European Parliament appealed to EU states to ratify the Lisbon Treaty as quickly as possible to strengthen Europe's hand in dealing with Russia. German MEP Hans-Gert Pottering told EU leaders the treaty would strengthen the union by creating more durable institutions and boosting solidarity between member states in the field of energy. He said the recent events in Georgia dramatically underlined the necessity of getting the Lisbon Treaty implemented.
"I have asked all countries to ratify the treaty of Lisbon because it would help us in this situation in Georgia because it would make us stronger, not only institution-wise but also in the energy sphere," Mr Pottering told The Irish Times after addressing EU leaders.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who attended the EU summit with Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, said the Lisbon Treaty would have addressed the issue of EU solidarity in the area of energy supplies - a key factor in the background in the Georgian dispute. He said the Government was not yet in a position to outline how it would deal with the public's rejection of the treaty last June.
However, he indicated a referendum would be required to ratify elements of the treaty, which could not be passed by the Dáil.
"There are aspects of the treaty for it to be fully ratified that will need a referendum," said Mr Cowen, who held informal talks with some EU leaders on the treaty issue on the margins of the summit.
He said he did not see the emergence of a new "cold war" on the horizon and he praised the EU for showing its effectiveness at the emergency summit on Georgia.