EU Leaders Stopped Short Of Imposing Sanctions On Moscow
September 1, 2008
An emergency summit of EU leaders in Brussels denounced the “disproportionate” Russian action and the Kremlin’s “unacceptable” recognition of the two breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The leaders did agree to a call by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to freeze negotiations with Moscow on a new EU-Russia strategic partnership but offered little else by way of concrete action..
The heads of state gathered to respond to Russia’s military action against Georgia and its recognition of the country’s two breakaway regions.
Mr Brown said the unusual step of calling an emergency summit was in itself “an immensely important signal” of the EU’s determination.
Emergency summits have only previously been held over the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“While we do want good relations with Russia, I think it is pretty clear from what has happened over the last few weeks it cannot be business as usual,” Mr Brown said.
In the final communique, the leaders agreed that the EU-Russia strategic partnership talks, due to resume this month, would be postponed pending a “careful, in-depth examination” of relations with Moscow.
“With the crisis in Georgia, relations between the EU and Russia have reached a crossroads,” it said.
“We call on Russia to join with us in making this fundamental choice in favour of mutual interest, understanding and co-operation. We are convinced that it is in Russia’s own interest not to isolate itself from Europe.”
The leaders called for the full implementation of the ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy - the current holder of the rotating EU presidency - with the withdrawal of Russian forces to their positions before the crisis broke.
Mr Sarkozy said he would be returning to Moscow and the Georgian capital Tbilisi to continue his mediation efforts between the two sides.
The leaders also agreed to the appointment of an EU special representative to deal with the crisis.
Mr Brown also won support for a renewed effort by the EU to diversify its energy sources in order to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Britain, along with Sweden and the former Soviet-bloc states, has been at the forefront of those European nations pressing for tough action against the Russians.
Earlier Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov warned the West to drop its support for Georgia.
He said the Kremlin wanted to see the removal of President Mikhail Saakashvili and called for the imposition of an arms embargo on Georgia until a new government was in place.
Mr Brown also insisted on Sunday that the West must become less reliant on Russian energy because it was being used as a “policy tool”.
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well, the difficulty of 27 states that see different aspects in sanctions
Spain, Portugal Italy, Greece, France will not suffer of a freezing winter, while Germany, Holland, Poland, Romania,…
that’s the dilemn
while the former eastern republics would like more EU and Nato… OK, that would make 30 states that can’t agree on a policy agenda
then, nuthin, cause the majority wants nuthin
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=a5gkwEW46Umk&refer=germany
September 1st, 2008 at 12:44 pmYeah, God forbid we impose sanctions on Russia. That might include holding back the billions of dollars in aid money that Russia rakes in every year from numerous countries that is secretly spent on building up their military.
September 1st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The EU is both spineless AND witless??
September 1st, 2008 at 2:36 pmfuck the EU
September 1st, 2008 at 2:43 pmYEAH
September 1st, 2008 at 3:27 pmAND NATO!
AND FRANCE
and all the rest of Eurabia!
fuck the Anglo-saxons and their fake elections
September 1st, 2008 at 4:01 pmVive De Gaulle, Vive Eisenhower, vive Patton
vive Voltaire
franchie, come now dear! fake elections?
vive Patton anyways!!
September 1st, 2008 at 5:46 pmdiplomacy at it’s finest
September 1st, 2008 at 8:52 pmGutless.
Meanwhile, Russia sells AK-47s and RPGs to anyone with two coins to rub together. The EU’s response is to blame Bush for everything under the sun.
Pshaw. Europe is already dead and gone. It rotted away on a diet of social programs and decadent lifestyles.
September 1st, 2008 at 9:07 pmjust for giggles russia has turned off the polish gas supply for about 24 hours, australia said it wont send its uranium ore to russia, turkey said that russia is discriminating and stalling the customs procedures for turkish products so turks wowed to mirror the treatment for russian products, and yea they found chloride in the amrican chicken that is sold in the russia - this is just a beginning, the economic war is about to get hotter. but i doubt the russian economy has reserves to handle that, the oil prices going down, the russian stock market is falling, so is the russian Ruble, no more western FDI and technology to rebuild the crumbling oil and gas infrastructure,nor have they drilled a new oil well - this year saw a 7% decrease in oil production compared to last. i think by the next year russia would be begging to sell its oil and gas to europe. oh, yea - no more winter Olympics in Sochi (witch historically happens to be a Georgian territory prior to Stalins/Ordzhonikidzes move to give it to russia in 1930s ) with 10-15 billion dollar investment for developing the olympic infrastructure going to waste.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 amIf ya’ll didnt hear, the North Caucasus nations are getting ready for independence moves, a very good tool in controlling the russians. they opened a Pandora box, or a can of whoop-ass if you will, that they cant handle. thats why pooooty is talking to every western media outlet to justify their actions. and if u listen to his interviews he is full of shit. and did u notice - medvedev looks like a Nutcracker character from the cartoon…
I whish we still had a de Gaulle, (or the like Eisenhower, Patton…) but the kind of men are no more bred in our times, just fakes that suit the TV frame and tell you what you want to hear
I don’t care if the EU is gone, it isn’t the EU that de Gaulle and Adenauer created anymore.
I had like we pull out of the EU and make our association with the mediterraneen countries, that were our “mare nostrum” for millenariums and the base of our culture and richnesses.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 am