Russia, U.S. Agree To Tone Down Rhetoric

MOSCOW - In an effort to improve bilateral relations, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed that Washington and Moscow need to moderate their public comments. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who participated in today's talks between Putin and Rice, said the two agreed that "rhetoric in public exchanges should be toned down and we should focus on concrete issues."

At the talks at Putin's residence outside Moscow, Lavrov also said the two sides agreed to try to seek a mutually acceptable solution on Kosovo's status.

Rising Tensions

Tensions between Russia and the United States have been rising over several issues.

Russia accuses Washington of trying to dominate international affairs and has criticized U.S. plans to build parts of a missile-defense system in Central Europe.

Moscow also says Washington is interfering in its internal affairs by allegedly funding pro-democracy groups.

The United States accuses Russia of backsliding on democracy. Washington is also concerned about Moscow's resistance to a UN proposal to grant Kosovo supervised independence from Serbia, and about Putin's April 26 call for Russia to suspend compliance with the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty.

Disagreements With EU

At a meeting later in the day with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Putin said he saw no "conflict of interests" with the European Union.

"Thank God we don't have any conflicts," Putin said. "We have different opinions on how to resolve some problems, but both sides are willing to resolve those problems."

Steinmeier said Russia and the EU must prevent their "differences" and "collisions" from turning into "a major political conflict."Steinmeier's visit comes ahead of an EU-Russia summit on May 18 (epa)
The meeting came ahead of a Russia-EU summit in Samara scheduled for May 18 that has been overshadowed by disagreements over several issues, including a Russian ban on Polish meat products.

Poland says it will veto a new EU-Russia partnership deal if Russia does not lift the ban. Poland also warned today that it would veto the accord unless the EU forms a united front on energy policy.

Russia, a major energy supplier to Europe, reacted angrily to Poland's demand.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said it was "unacceptable" for Moscow's relations with the EU to be "taken hostage" by one member state.

Source: rferl.org - Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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