EU postpones partnership talks with Russia

[Darsh]

Monday 01 September 2008
By France 24 with wires

EU officials announced Monday their decision to postpone strategic partnership talks with Russia until Moscow withdraws its troops to pre-conflict positions in Georgia, after an extraordinary meeting of European leaders in Brussels.

“Europe has spoken with one voice,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at a press conference following the European Council meeting over Russia’s conflict with Georgia. “All the member nations demand an implementation of the six-point plan,” he said, referring to an agreement drafted by France and approved by Russia last month for ceasing Georgia-Russian hostilities.

“All solutions are dependent on the assumption of Georgian sovereignty, and not on a unilateral ‘fait accompli,’ (on the part of Russia),” he said.

European Commission President José Barroso added, “We cannot act as if nothing happened,” making the controversial announcement that the EU would postpone the next round of strategic partnership talks with Russia, which had been scheduled for September 15. Barroso announced that he, Sarkozy, and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union Javier Solana would be meeting in Tbisili and Moscow commencing September 8 to “verify the implementation of the six point plan.”

Sarkozy called for the meeting on the heels of an international furor over the presence of the Russian military in the Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia on August 8, one day after Georgia's bid to bring South Ossetia back under central control.

Since then Moscow has recognised the independence of both South Ossetia and the other breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia.

This is the first such ad-hoc EU summit since the beginning of the war in Iraq in 2003.

http://www.france24.com/en/20080901-...ozy&navi=MONDE

[Lord de Lyonesse]

Ok in the end it really doesn't matter Russia has a massive tank army the E.U has nothing

Russia 1 E.U 0

[StarDreamer]

Ok in the end it really doesn't matter Russia has a massive tank army the E.U has nothing

Russia 1 E.U 0

What? What does a Russian tank army have to do with anything?

[Rumilus]

In another words, EU does nothing except spreads towards Russia, and Russia eagerly brings lubes, oil and gas. We really have so great experiences with the proud tradition of appeasement, so why give that up.

[danzig]

What? What does a Russian tank army have to do with anything?

Something to do with russian penis envy...we have great big tanks. Anyway good for EU and their decision hopefully they will push it further if Russia still refuses to live up to the agreement.

[Applesmack]

Just like I thought. The EU wussed out because they are so dependant on Russia to do anything serious.

[danzig]

Just like I thought. The EU wussed out because they are so dependant on Russia to do anything serious.

Yes EU should have been more like Russia, reckless and stupid I suppose and threaten to launch an arms race, build nukes and aim them all at Russia for this....

[StarDreamer]

Just like I thought. The EU wussed out because they are so dependant on Russia to do anything serious.

Wussed out how? Sanctions were already out of question before the meet, and it is until the EU has an alternative source for energy.

[Lord de Lyonesse]

What? What does a Russian tank army have to do with anything?

Umm.. everything! russia has access to cut off europes gas supply and has the worlds largest standing tank army and the eu has no army whatso ever.

as i said E.U 0 Russia 1

Something to do with russian penis envy...we have great big tanks. Anyway good for EU and their decision hopefully they will push it further if Russia still refuses to live up to the agreement.

What so you want ww3, well i don't you maniac...

[Andrew87]

the eu has no army whatso ever.

as i said E.U 0 Russia 1

the EU has no army?True...but european nations have

Umm.. everything! russia has access to cut off europes gas supply

If you bothered to read the previous posts you would have known Russia can't cut off gas supplies to Europe, not even the Arabs despite their hate to Israel won't cut energy supplies to them.

and has the worlds largest standing tank army

and what can Russia do with it's tank army?


Just look at how they handled it in Georgia:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/156314/page/2

While the invasion went smoothly, however, the tactics used were old fashioned. Tank columns trundled slowly down a single road—and would have been massacred had they faced a modern Western military. Analysts say that coordination between Russia's forces was also dismal, with aircraft operating almost independently. The Russians, in addition, inexplicably used Tu-22 strategic bombers for reconnaissance and to strafe ground targets. And communications and field intelligence were less than impressive: one Russian officer asked a NEWSWEEK reporter if she could lend him a Georgian SIM card for his phone; he also asked if she knew where the nearest Georgian front lines were (the latter request was politely declined).

Russia:1, Eu: 0 ? hardly

[Dracula]

According to a gloomy analysis circulated last week by the NATO college in Rome, "Moscow is likely to see NATO as a paper tiger unable either to provide real support to its partners or to respond to conflict in the wider Euro-Atlantic area."

NATo - Paper Tiger !! HA ha ! Great. The funniest is that it may be close to reality.

[Farnan]

Ok in the end it really doesn't matter Russia has a massive tank army the E.U has nothing

Russia 1 E.U 0

Actually there are a total of 5,575 tanks in the military of the EU, plus an additional 9,217 in the militaries of the the US, Canada, Australia, and Turkey who would come to the assistance should Russia attack, I don't think it was fear of the Russian Tank Fleet that scared the EU (though there are more Russian tanks then all this combined, half of them are T-72s while a greater percentage of EU + NATO tanks are Leopard 2s, Challenger 2s, AM-80xs, Leclarcs and Abrams).

I think the EU was using something called diplomacy, Russia should give it a try.

[Smythes]

Russia should learn the difference between military intervention and invasion.

One is done to protect an interest, the other is done to take something over.

[Heathen Hammer]

Russia should learn the difference between military intervention and invasion.

One is done to protect an interest, the other is done to take something over.

Thats exactly what western "critics" of Russia should know.

[StarDreamer]

Thats exactly what western "critics" of Russia should know.

Intervention: The deliberate act of a nation or a group of nations to introduce its military forces into the course of an existing controversy.

Invasion: 1. The act of invading, especially the entrance of an armed force into a territory to conquer.
2. An intrusion or encroachment.

Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Happy?

[Holger Danske]

Lawl, they'd cut the oil not for the actions themselves, but for Brussels being a copy-cat...

[Kanaric]

Something to do with russian penis envy...we have great big tanks. Anyway good for EU and their decision hopefully they will push it further if Russia still refuses to live up to the agreement.

There is a long history of russia building pointlessly massive things, always wondered why that is.

Tzar Bomba, that ridiculously huge medieval cannon, the largest transport aircraft ever built, hmm....

The EU wussed out because they are so dependant on Russia to do anything serious.

The western half of the Iron Curtain did just fine without russia they will do just fine without them now.

[Bleda]

Iit'd be like the US pushing for sanctions against Saudi Arabia for its human rights violations. It doesn't happen because that would be biting the hand that feeds you, in some respects.

[EpicJon]

i don't blame them..

-EJon

[VALIS]

What exactly are 'strategic talks', what are they pertaining to?
Unless its something of vital importance that the Russians can not live without, this meeting and its statements are empty words and a lot of hot air, I'm sure the Kremlin does not care what a bunch of non entity leaders have to say on this issue. Russia have the trump cards.