Geen akkoord met Rusland over energie (en)

The EU got no closer to getting its hands on Russian gas pipelines at a mild-mannered meeting on the Black Sea coast, with both sides exchanging blandishments and Moscow subtly underlining its new sense of self-confidence.

"If our European partners expect us to let them into the most sacred part of our economy - energy - then we expect the same steps from them in the most critical and important areas for our development," Russian president Vladimir Putin said.

"The question is what will we get in return? We ask where your deposits and pipelines are. If [Europe] does not have any, then we have to look for other areas of cooperation," he added on the Energy Charter Treaty, press reports say.

The treaty, drafted in 1991 but still not ratified, envisages the EU using Russian pipelines to bring in cheap Central Asian gas and oil, with Russian diplomats saying technical problems relating to the 2004 round of EU enlargement are complicating talks.

For its part, most EU member states with the exception of Germany, are reluctant to let Russia's Gazprom buy EU electricity and gas distributors, with EU officials privately saying the firm is an arm of the Russian foreign ministry.

The ten hour meeting at the €1,200 a night Rus sanatorium - formerly owned by Yukos - on Russia's Black Sea coast also saw Mr Putin take a swipe at the US in Iraq, saying "We see how the United States defends its interests, we see what methods and means they use for this."

But the tone of the meeting was softer than recent Russian statements depicting the US as "comrade wolf" swallowing countries or veiled threats against the EU to switch energy supplies to China.

"The United States is our major partner, and we value relations with that country," the Russian leader stated. "China is not an alternative to Europe for energy supplies."

Barroso trusts Russia

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso i indicated the EU has "no lack of trust" in Russia as an energy supplier, but added "there are some sensitivities, it is true" in the post-Ukraine gas crisis energy climate.

"We hope for continuing energy raw material supplies from Russia, that Russia, on its side, treats Europe as a dependable partner," Austrian chancellor and head of the current EU presidency Wolfgang Schussel said.

The trio, posing for pictures by the sea in open-necked shirts with a black labrador, also signed a new visa deal guaranteeing cheap travel for each other's citizens from 2007 onward.

The lack of substance at the meeting was reflected in European media reporting of trivia such as the fact it was the 17th EU-Russia summit with the first such meeting taking place in Birmingham, UK.

According to the summit agenda, the leaders were also due to talk about international issues such as Iran and Belarus over lunch, but there were no new public statements on either subject.

Belarus to appeal EU ban

Meanwhile, in the background of the summit, tension continued to mount between Russian ally Belarus and the EU and between Moscow and Warsaw.

Belarus officials told Russian agency ITAR-TASS they plan to appeal the recent EU travel ban via the European Court of Human Rights, saying "The restrictions directly violate the principles of the Helsinki accords related to freedom of travel."

And Polish diplomats confirmed that Moscow invited Polish president Lech Kaczynski to meet Mr Putin in Belarus - a patently unacceptable venue for the anti-Lukashenko Polish government, read as Russian bad faith by Polish diplomats.