Interview with Andrey Zagorsky
Andrey Zagorsky, professor at the Moscow State University of International Relations, commented for Russia Today on the Russia
Russia Today: Many are saying though that this issue is doomed, it is not getting off to a very good start, with the problems with Lithuania, Poland and indeed the Kosovo problem. Also, disagreements between Russia and West about what to do about it all? What do you think is going to happen over the next two days?
Andrey Zagorsky: Well, indeed earlier this week on Monday some of the member states of the EU asked to postpone the meeting in Samara which was looking like a crisis to all of them but rational overwhelmed by saying we need to talk exactly in the bad times with each other, not to postpone, not to leave things so open. What we know now is that Samara meeting is going to take place. We have to pay a price for this. It is probably going to be a summit meeting of lost opportunities on some of the crucial issues which we had on the agenda between Russia an the EU. But we also look forward to some progress in the secondary areas which have not been so much in the focus, it is very much on the balance of whether we have progress or we have not.
RT: Russia has been playing down the fact that the problems are being. How grave are these concerns? Are the problems can be bridged do you think?
A.Z.: On the one hand we certainly have a wide agenda. We have many issues and many areas of co-operation on which we have the divergencies, including WTO accession, including policies towards common neighbourhood, energy security is one of them etc. These are not definitely unbridgeable controversies; we need to spend our time to solve those issues. Certainly, when particular developments come into being and disturb the relations it is not the best time to solve those issues, so it would take a time.
RT: So, you do not think that we come out of this summit with a partnership agreement between Russia and the EU at this stage?
A.Z.: We certainly are not going to launch negotiations on the new agreement, it is clear. Moscow is not giving in with the issue of over flight rights for European companies over the Russian air space and the EU is not likely to move ahead on the WTO accession for Russia. Three areas which have been the major areas of expected progress. Still we might have progress in climate protection issues. We are likely to have a progress on visa facilitation. We do expect agreements to enter into force in June this year and some other issues as well.
RT: What is in it for both sides? What is in it for Russia joining a partnership with Europe? What is wrong if things just stay where they are at the moment?
A.Z.: I think we still have to identify the essence of the partnership and what both sides do expect. The expectation both sides had in the 1990s certainly might have been wrong and we are now in the process to find and to negotiate a new basis. This is not an easy procedure and it will take some time. Russia behaves as a sovereign state as it emphasises. Consequence of sovereignty is very strong there. We want a partnership in economics, we want a partnership in international security issues. We need to find the way how to make this partnership to work. It is not easy.
RT: And what is in it for Europe? Well, energy, I guess energy security, because the West is very much reliant on Russia for energy, is it not?
A.Z.: Yes, energy is important although it is not a single issue which is on the agenda in economic terms between Russia and the EU. I think we might have some progress at least with regard of notifying at early stage each other if any problem will be forthcoming in supply. This was a topic from January this year between Russia and the EU. The EU also emphasises that Russia is indispensable partner in talking about international security issues, mainly emphasising such questions like Middle East negotiations, Russia is a part of the quartet, emphasising the Iran nuclear dossier on which we have a very critical close positions. At the same time we do have disputes on other issues. You have mentioned Kosovo already which is going to be one of the most controversial foreign policy issue during this summit. So it is a part of the process of bringing our positions closer to each other to converge our policies. Summits are only one stage of this process though an important one.
RT: Of course many of the EU new members are former Soviet block countries. These are countries with many of which Russia has problems at the moment, thinking about Poland and the meat import, thinking of Estonia and the removal of the Bronze Soldier monument and Lithuania with the threat of energy being cut off. Do you think there will ever be easy alliance between Russia and all those former Soviet block countries?
A.Z.: First of all these are certainly disputes which are currently on the surface which certainly have impact on the general relations because those countries definitely want to use their rights in consensus building in the EU to have their interests present in the common position. An important issue certainly is it is not all former Soviet bloc countries which are on the critics side in regard of Russia. We have different relations with many other countries. It is not a predicament that any new EU member state would have a difficult relation with Russia. So that is why we need to think over how we can alleviate the disputes with the countries concerned. How we can improve relations and also it would be very wrong to assume that it is just those issues which do spoil relations with Russia. Again we have a wide range of issues on the agenda on which we need to bridge over the divergences which are concerned, not only the new EU member states, but also the others.
RT: And generally, what is your view? Is it just a talking shop or is there a will to find a way forward?
A.Z.: I think the message was very clear this week when Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Foreign Minister of Germany was coming over saying:
