Putin in bid to bypass Chechnya

Date: 28/05/03

By David Cronin

CHECHNYA will be off limits at this weekend's EU-Russia summit in St Petersburg if Vladimir Putin has his way, European Voice has learned.

Both Moscow and EU sources have confirmed that the topic of human rights abuses in the mainly Muslim republic has been omitted from the draft programme for the 31 May summit, at the request of the Russian president. "We don't see the need for a discussion on this," remarked one Russian source.

However, Greece, which holds the presidency of the Union, is holding open the possibility that it will raise concerns about reports of extra-judicial killings in Chechnya. "This is a contentious subject that we would like to be on the agenda but one that the Russians don't," said an aide to George Papandreou, the Greek foreign minister. "But it is unlikely to be completely ignored, given there are so many people in Europe concerned about it."

Amnesty International is expected to turn the spotlight on Chechnya, when it launches its 2003 annual report in Moscow today (28 May). In a recent statement, the human rights watchdogstated that Chechen civilians continue to 'disappear' after being apprehended by Russian troops in their villages, with many later found in mass graves.

Although the summit is part of the events scheduled to mark the tricentenary of St Petersburg, it is due to last just two hours. Much of that time will be devoted to a strategic debate on how EU-Russian relations can be bolstered.

Speaking to this newspaper, Russia's outgoing ambassador to NATO, Sergei Kislyak, argued it would be useful to establish new structures to facilitate EU-Moscow dialogue.

One possibility, he suggests, would be creating an EU equivalent to the NATO-Russia Council, set up in May 2002. Meeting monthly at ambassadorial level, it has ushered in an unprecedented level of contact between NATO and its former Cold War foe.

European Commission officials are known to be hostile to the idea of trying to apply this model to EU-Russia links, fearing it would give Moscow a say in the Union's internal affairs. But Kislyak feels such worries are groundless.

"That kind of logic lived through relations with NATO."

After five years in his current job, Kislyak is due to return to Moscow shortly, where he will work in its foreign affairs ministry.

Tatsky Konstantin has been named as his successor.

The controversial issue of Chechnya will be off the agenda at the eleventh EU-Russia summit on 31 May 2003.