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Russian officials: Russia-EU talks must not be hostage to problems with certain nations
The Russian president’s envoy on relations with the EU Sergei Yastrzhembsky and Russia’s EU Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov have offered their comment on relations between Russia and the European Union.
Russia and the European Union should start negotiations on a new cooperation agreement without preconditions, presidential envoy on relations with the EU Sergey Yastrzhembsky told Interfax on Monday.
"Obviously, the negotiations must start without preconditions. It would be strange to make the negotiations a hostage of specific problems in bilateral relations between Russia and certain EU member states," he said commenting on a statement by Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski saying that Warsaw might block EU negotiations with Russia.
"Moscow thinks that the European Union and Russia are equally interested in the soonest possible beginning of negotiations on the new cooperation treaty. Equal interest is what is important," he said.
"As for Poland's claims, our Warsaw partners are well aware of ways to resolve such problems. There is no doubt they can only be resolved bilaterally, without the participation of the EU," he said.
The overwhelming majority of EU leaders support a new level of relations with Russia at the recent Russia-EU informal summit in Finland, he said.
Russia views the new strategic partnership agreement with the European Union as a legally binding framework document, and does not want to set any deadline for drafting it, Russia’s EU Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov told the Russian press in Brussels on Monday.
"We view the new agreement as a legally binding and framework document, which will imply the further signing of agreements in specific areas and offer a flexible and easily adjustable mechanism of cooperation," he said, responding to a question from Interfax.
"We had a number of brainstorms with our EU colleagues, which showed that our vision of the future agreement is similar in many aspects. Yet we certainly have difficulties in coordinating the specific wording," Chizhov said.
The European Commission is waiting for a negotiating mandate from the EU Council of Ministers, he said. "The Finnish chairman-in-office has promised to do his best to approve the mandate before the Russia-EU summit in Helsinki. The summit will give a political impetus to the negotiations," he said.
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