EU AND Russian leaders have met in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to discuss closer co-operation.
The latest biannual EU-Russia summit was initially dominated by condemnation of the recent Israeli attack on aid ships attempting to reach Gaza. Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted a joint statement issued by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton demanding a full investigation.
But for Russia, the establishment of a visa-free travel regime with the European Union was always going to be the big issue at the conference. Russia is keen to attract skilled workers for key modernisation projects such as the new Skolkovo business park, under construction near Moscow. With any new legislation required to be approved by EU member states, passing binding documentation was always unlikely at the summit, but Russian president Dmitry Medvedev raised the issue yesterday. As well as stressing Russia’s willingness to scrap visa requirements for residents of EU countries, the Russian leader said the quicker the EU came to a consensus on the issue the better.
Mr Medvedev also took the opportunity to push for progress on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation. Negotiations for Russian accession have been ongoing for 16 years, and it remains the only G20 country outside the grouping. The customs union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus which came into effect earlier this year has threatened to further stall progress, although the USA has indicated that it is willing to push Russia’s application through.
The summit takes place in what started out as a bad week for Russian authorities. Prime minister Vladimir Putin was put on the spot by rock star and Kremlin critic Yury Shevchuk at a charity event in St Petersburg at the weekend. Fielding criticism and questions about restrictions on press freedom and the right to assembly, Mr Putin was forced to express his support for public protests.
This was unfortunate given that Monday marked the latest unauthorised protest on the 31st of the month, in recognition that article 31 of the Russian constitution guarantees the right to assembly.
Any hopes of a more lenient approach were dashed however, as protesters were beaten and arrested. Local media reported that 100-200 people were arrested at the Moscow event. Similar events were held in other cities throughout the country. Protests were also reported in the Kemerovo region, still reeling from the Raspadskaya mine blasts, which killed 66 miners last month. Angry protesters earlier blocked a railway line in mid-May, as reports emerged of safety breaches and miners highlighted poor working conditions and meagre wages.
This didn’t stop European Council president Herman Van Rompuy from acknowledging Russia’s progress in observing human rights at this week’s summit, however, pointing to Russia’s confirmation of the moratorium on the death penalty as one example of the Russian government’s commitment. Mr Van Rompuy did express concern about working conditions for human rights’ defenders and journalists, particularly in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region.