EU to try to change Russia position on Iran, subject of Transdniestria to be raised..
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Written by Nikola
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Sunday, 02 October 2005 |
The European Union will attempt to pressure Russia to change its position on Iran's nuclear program during the EU-Russia summit in London on Tuesday (Oct 4).
"Iran will come up for discussions. You remember that Russia abstained from the IAEA board resolution, and we will be seeking to see if it would be possible in the coming period to reach consensus with the Russians. Their influence over Iran would be important," EU diplomatic sources told reporters in Brussels.
Another top official from the current UK Presidency of the EU said in Brussels Friday that he cant predict exactly what British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Minister Jack Straw are going to raise at the summit itself, when asked by IRNA if Iran would be raised during the summit.
"Its clearly one of the issues which (EU) foreign ministers and leaders have been discussing a lot recently when they meet," said the official requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Brussels-based weekly paper "European Voice" in a front page report said Russian President Valdimir Putin will be pressed next week to back Iran's referral to the UN Security Council, as the EU intensifies pressure on Tehran to halt nuclear activities.
The paper quoted an unnamed EU diplomat as saying the EU will be asking the Russian government to back Security Council action or put forward an alternative strategy.
But despite Russia's highly publicized investment in Iran's energy sector some observers say the EU may well succeed in getting Russian backing for sanctions, said the English-language paper.
"In the end, Russia will vote against Iran," the European Voice quoted Heidi Huuhtanen, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, as saying.
"Russia's interests in Iran are not as huge as it is very often assumed. I dont think then that China would isolate itself," she said.
But EU diplomats also sounded a note of caution over India's support for referral, admitting that the importance of the surprise vote in favor of IAEA's latest resolution may have been "overstated," said the weekly.
President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will attend the EU-Russia summit.
The meeting will be hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair and attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian ministers.
UK holds the current EU Presidency.
The chief focus of the summit is implementation of the four "common spaces" agreed at the last EU-Russia Summit in May, according to a European Commission statement.
Those encompass a wide range of policy areas from economic issues to environment and energy, security matters, culture and education.
The situation in Chechnya and the wider north Caucasus, Belarus, Transdniestria, Uzbekistan and Georgia will be raised.
Talks will also touch on the Middle East, Iran, the follow-up to the UN Summit, the western Balkans and the prospects for OSCE reform.
Visa facilitation as well as a readmission agreement of people from third countries entering the EU illegally from Russia will also be discussed.
"Our close friendship with Russia is taking another important step forward. We will start implementation of the four common spaces which will further strengthen our relationship. Agreements on visa facilitation and readmission will be a very important example of the concrete benefits that the European Union-Russia relationship can bring to our citizens," said Barroso in a statement.
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