EU-Russia ties at new low

AFP, BRUSSELS: Ties between the EU and Russia remain at their lowest ebb over the conflict in Ukraine, ahead of a series of key talks including a visit by President Petro Poroshenko to Brussels on Thursday.
Renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Moscow rebels and Kiev’s government forces has made a mockery of a February ceasefire, while the European Union has renewed tough sanctions against Russia. Poroshenko is set to call for renewed support from the European Union when he travels to Brussels, days after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin.
Poroshenko will meet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk for talks centering on the “implementation of the Minsk agreement” that led to the ceasefire, the Commission said last week.
At the same time, the EU is due to restart stalled three-way talks with Kiev and Moscow on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine, and on a landmark EU-Ukraine free-trade deal accord that Moscow says will harm its economy. “These are the only two dossiers that the Russians agree to discuss with the EU,” said Pierre Vimont, former secretary-general of the EU diplomatic service and now researcher for the Carnegie Institute. “These talks are never easy. The Russians are difficult, and for their part the Ukrainians stick to their ground too.”
The EU’s condemnation on Tuesday of a jail sentence handed down by a Russian court to Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov for “terrorism” added to the bad blood ahead of the meetings. The EU wants at all costs to avoid a “gas war” with Russia as winter looms, with any stand-off threatening supplies to Europe, around half of which pass through Ukraine.
Experts say a deal is needed by October to avoid shortages.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s Vice President in charge of Energy Union, will on the sidelines of a western Balkans summit in Vienna on Thursday relaunch talks with the Ukrainian side, which has not been supplied by Russian giant Gazprom for several months. A meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak is also scheduled for the start of September.

EU-Russia ties at new low

AFP, BRUSSELS: Ties between the EU and Russia remain at their lowest ebb over the conflict in Ukraine, ahead of a series of key talks including a visit by President Petro Poroshenko to Brussels on Thursday. Renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Moscow rebels and Kievs government forces has made a mockery of a February ceasefire, while the European Union has renewed tough sanctions against Russia. Poroshenko is set to call for renewed support from the European Union when he travels to Brussels, days after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin. Poroshenko will meet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk for talks centering on the implementation of the Minsk agreement that led to the ceasefire, the Commission said last week. At the same time, the EU is due to restart stalled three-way talks with Kiev and Moscow on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine, and on a landmark EU-Ukraine free-trade deal accord that Moscow says will harm its economy. These are the only two dossiers that the Russians agree to discuss with the EU, said Pierre Vimont, former secretary-general of the EU diplomatic service and now researcher for the Carnegie Institute. These talks are never easy. The Russians are difficult, and for their part the Ukrainians stick to their ground too. The EUs condemnation on Tuesday of a jail sentence handed down by a Russian court to Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov for terrorism added to the bad blood ahead of the meetings. The EU wants at all costs to avoid a gas war with Russia as winter looms, with any stand-off threatening supplies to Europe, around half of which pass through Ukraine. Experts say a deal is needed by October to avoid shortages. Maros Sefcovic, the EUs Vice President in charge of Energy Union, will on the sidelines of a western Balkans summit in Vienna on Thursday relaunch talks with the Ukrainian side, which has not been supplied by Russian giant Gazprom for several months. A meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak is also scheduled for the start of September.