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By GARY PEACH
Associated Press Writer
No breakthrough likely at EU-Russia summit83 days ago
(AP:STOCKHOLM) Leaders of the European Union, invigorated by the recent adoption of sweeping reforms, are hoping to patch up relations with Russia when the two sides meet Wednesday.
The EU and Russia, led by President Dmitry Medvedev, were scheduled to discuss energy security, climate change, trade and human rights at their biannual summit in Stockholm, the Swedish capital.
Relations between the two hit a low over the past year after Russia's war with Georgia as well as Moscow's sudden decision in January to cease natural gas deliveries because of a dispute with Ukraine, leaving millions of EU citizens in the cold.
"EU-Russia relations aren't the greatest right now, and so the expectations (for the summit) are probably not set too high," said Carolina Vendil-Pallin, a Russia expert at the Swedish Defence Research Agency in Stockholm.
But unlike in the previous meeting six months ago in Moscow, which ended without tangible success, this time the two sides appear determined to mend relations. On Monday they agreed to establish an early warning system for possible disruptions in energy supplies.
Still, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would close the valves again if Ukraine fails to pay for its natural gas or begins siphoning from the pipeline _ a warning that raised the hackles of some EU leaders.
Russia is the EU's largest energy supplier, and the 27-member bloc receives 20 percent of its natural gas via the Ukrainian pipeline. Another shutdown would pose serious problems for parts of Eastern Europe.
Putin suggested the EU help finance secure gas deliveries by lending $1 billion to Ukraine _ an idea European leaders dismissed.
However, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's representative to the EU, reiterated the proposal Friday.
"We are calling on the European Union to participate actively in a number of preventive measures, including financial assistance, in order to guarantee the uninterrupted transit of energy supplies through Ukrainian territory," he said.
Russia and EU leaders are also expected to discuss climate change, trade and human rights.
The European Union is hoping to convince Russia to make a stronger commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen approaches in December.
Russia has said it is willing to cut emissions by 10-15 percent of 1990 levels; the European Union would like to see deeper reductions.
On trade, EU officials have said they will ask Medvedev to clarify Russia's intentions regarding joining the World Trade Organization. Russia has said it would only join the WTO in a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, and not by itself, as previously intended.
Cecilia Malmstrom, Sweden's minister for EU affairs, said this has complicated trade between the two sides.
Russia is the only major world economy that has failed to join the WTO.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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