Oct 13, 2008, 15:38 GMT
Luxembourg - European Union governments remained split Monday over whether to resume cooperation talks with Russia because of profound divisions within the 27-member bloc about which conditions they want Moscow to meet first.
At a meeting in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers 'noted with satisfaction that ... Russian troops have withdrawn from the zones adjacent to (the Georgian breakaway regions of) South Ossetia and Abkhazia,' as reported last week by observers from the EU and from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
However, while the move is 'an essential additional step' in the implementation of an EU-sponsored peace plan, 'discussions must focus on all the remaining problems,' ministers said in a joint statement.
These include 'arrangements for stability and security in the region', the return of Georgian refugees, and Russia's continued presence in the disputed areas of the Kodori valley and the Akhalgori region, both of which lie on the borders between core Georgia and the two separatist enclaves.
At an emergency summit held on September 1, EU governments agreed to freeze talks on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Russia because of its 'disproportionate use of force' against Georgia and its violation of the country's territorial integrity.
The PCA is a contract governing matters such as trade, investment, environmental protection, tourism, and cultural exchanges between the EU and Russia.
Leaders at the time vowed to resume PCA talks once Russian troops had 'withdrawn to the positions held prior to 7 August.'
But Russia's subsequent decision to reinforce its presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia with up to 8,000 troops has since prompted some EU states to argue that a pull-out from core Georgia is no longer sufficient.
'Discussions are continuing on the situation in the Alkhagori region,' Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in Luxembourg.
'Secondly, there's the issue of the amount of troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are now at least four times what they were before the conflict escalated.
'And a third point is the lack of access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia for EU and OSCE monitors,' Paet said.
The plight of Georgian refugees, and the search for a political solution to Georgia's current predicament, now move on to Geneva, where diplomats and experts are due to hold peace talks on Wednesday.
And the future of the PCA will be discussed by EU foreign ministers meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit taking place in Brussels on the same day.
According to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who chaired Monday's talks in Luxembourg, it is 'very difficult to flag up a date for resuming (the PCA) negotiations.'
That view was shared by many of his colleagues.
'On the PCA, opinions differ as to when it would be the right or logical moment to decide on restarting the talks,' Latvia's Maris Riekstins told dpa.
The Baltic trio, flanked by Britain, Poland and Sweden, have taken a particularly tough stance towards Russia, with Britain's David Miliband saying EU governments should first focus on ensuring that 'all the elements that were agreed in September, including the Geneva talks, get going with proper speed.'
But that view is not shared by heavyweights Italy and Germany, with Germany's minister of state for Europe, Gunter Gloser, saying Monday that negotiations should resume as soon as possible.
'There is no advantage, not even for the Baltics, to keep Russia out,' Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said.
Most ministers agreed that a decision on the future of relations with Russia should be reached before an EU-Russia summit due to take place in Nice on November 14. That meeting is still on the agenda.
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