EU Diplomats Wary of Russia Controversy

An EU declaration will fall short of Georgia's hopes, offering humanitarian aid but not blaming either Russia or Georgia for the conflict

By Philippa Runner

The French EU presidency is expected to endorse the Russia-Georgia ceasefire, offer humanitarian aid and urge EU unity in a statement after an EU foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday (13 August), with Paris keen to avoid controversy on who to blame for the crisis.

Preparatory discussions by EU diplomats on Tuesday saw a group of former communist states speak in "sharp language" about Russia, but the tone was "less radical than they used for their domestic press," one diplomat who attended the debates told EUobserver.

"The presidency thinks, right now, it's better to focus on problem-solving, rather than trying to go into characterisation of the war, who started what, who reacted, and the EU is united behind the idea," he added. "The presidency wants to preserve as much room for manoeuvre for future mediation as possible."

Wednesday's EU statement will probably be a French declaration rather than a formal joint position by all 27 countries, an EU official said.

"The situation is still evolving. It's not black and white. Of course, Georgia made some mistakes, Russia made some mistakes. But the idea now is to help mediation, to see what we can do from a humanitarian point of view."

The declaration is likely to fall short of Georgian hopes, with Georgia's EU ambassador, Salome Samadashvili, saying she would like the EU to label Russia's behaviour as an "act of aggression," condemn the bombing of the Georgian town of Gori, cast doubt on EU-Russia negotiations on a new strategic pact and reaffirm Georgia's territorial integrity.

The foreign ministers meeting will begin with a briefing by France's Bernard Kouchner, who came to Brussels from Tbilisi on Tuesday night after taking part in talks between French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili.

Russia and Georgia on Tuesday signed a Russian-drafted, six-point ceasefire plan which calls for troops to pull back and for international talks about the "modalities of security and stability" in Georgian separatist regions.

Shockwaves

The five day war erupted when Georgia fired on Russia-backed rebels in the Georgian province of South Ossetia last Friday (8 August) and Russia launched a massive retaliation, moving tanks deep into Georgian territory, mobilising its navy and ordering bombing raids.

The fighting killed hundreds of civilians and shocked former communist EU states, as well as Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan, some of which fear that a newly-assertive Russia will try to undermine other pro-western neighbours in future.

"The EU should say 'no' [to Russia's subjugation of Georgia] and push Russia out. This means tough language, sanctions [against Russia] and quick EU humanitarian intervention," a diplomat from one of the former communist EU states said, looking at the EU's policy options down the line.

The Russian incursion into Georgia was clearly "military aggression" and should bear "costs" in terms of EU-Russia relations, but a suspension of the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement or of military cooperation would be ineffective, European Council on Foreign Relations analyst, Nicu Popescu, said.

The EU's main focus should instead be the swift deployment of an impartial, international peacekeeping force made up of UN or EU soldiers and civilian monitors followed by a donors' conference to help rebuild the war zone, he advised.

"The first lesson of this crisis is that the old policy of EU non-engagement has encouraged both parties to escalate their actions. From an EU perspective, the first casualty is the theory that by getting more involved in Georgia, the EU will irritate Russia and provoke instability."

Mr Sarkozy in Moscow on Tuesday spoke of the possibility of an EU peacekeeping mission, with Estonia quickly offering to send troops.

Peacekeeping conundrum

But creating a force that will be acceptable to all sides could prove hard, with Russia's NATO ambassador, Dmitry Rogozin, on Tuesday ruling out any Georgian component, while Ms Samadashvili said no Russian troops can take part.

Last year, Russia and Estonia were involved in an ugly row over Tallinn's decision to move a Soviet-era statue from its city centre. And the current Russia-Georgia conflict has injected bitterness into international relations beyond Europe.

Russia's Mr Rogozin at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday complained that NATO had listened to Georgian delegates but failed to convene a NATO Russia Council as planned, implying that Georgia ally, the US, secretly knew about Georgia's plans to attack the South Ossetia rebels last week.

"I suspect the American allies will be ashamed to discuss this with their European colleagues," he said.

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