Putin Flies to Brussels amid Low Expectations for 30th EU-Russia Summit

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | December 21, 2012, Friday // 09:33
Bulgaria: Putin Flies to Brussels amid Low Expectations for 30th EU-Russia Summit Russian President Vladimir Putin has flown to Brussels for the 30th Russia-EU Summit. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Brussels to attend on Friday a Russia-EU summit, which is said to have few prospects for any breakthrough agreements on common issues.

Russian media note that the EU-Russia summit will focus on energy and visas as Moscow has made visa-free travel between Russia and the EU a foreign policy priority.

The Russian president will also press the issue of the possibility of exempting Russian companies from the provisions of the EU Third Energy Package, which requires the separation of energy production, transportation and sales.

Russia has repeatedly spoken out against the EU directive as it particularly affects the operations of vertically-integrated Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, which produces and sells gas and owns transportation facilities, Russian news agency RIA Novosti comments.

The 30th EU-Russia summit in 15 years is a "tribute to the indispensable nature of our partnership," EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement this week.

"Together the EU and Russia can make a decisive contribution to global governance and regional conflict resolution."

Putin however arrives after urging closer ties with former Soviet states so as to limit the influence of a West which holds that he is trying to restore the economic and defence ties of the Communist era, Western media comment.

Western attempts "to force other nations to accept their own standards can lead to the most serious circumstances," Putin said after meeting leaders of Belarus and Armenia this week.

The timing of the summit is delicate as the conflict in Syria claims yet more lives though Putin suggested Thursday that Moscow might reconsider its support of long-time ally President Bashar al-Assad.

The EU and Russia share trade of more than 300 billion euros and Russia supplied 29 percent of EU oil and gas needs in 2011, but even such ties can prove problematic.

Brussels says Moscow has not lived up to the commitments it made to win World Trade Organization membership but Russia insists it needs more time to adjust to the painful compromises involved.

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Tags: EU-Russia meeting, EU-Russia Council, Herman van Rompuy, Vladimir Putin, EU President, Russia, Russian President

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