FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a truce with Russia over plans by the US, the Czech Republic and Poland to build a missile defence shield in Europe.
He has also proposed that the EU, US and Russia should attend an international summit next summer to agree the outline for a new pan-European security treaty.
"As president of the European Union, I proposed that in mid-2009 we meet . . . to lay the foundation for what could be the future of European security. Between now and then, don't talk about deployment of a missile shield which does nothing to bring security and complicates things," said Mr Sarkozy at an EU-Russia summit that reflected improved diplomatic relations between the two power blocs despite the war in Georgia in August.
US plans to build a missile shield in Europe to protect against attacks from rogue states such as Iran have deeply angered Moscow, which has threatened to retaliate by placing short-range missiles in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Mr Sarkozy told Russia president Dmitri Medvedev yesterday he was concerned about this threat and asked him to delay any deployment until talks had begun on a new a pan-European security strategy.
Mr Medvedev, who has been pressing the EU to consider constructing a new pan-European security architecture with Russia, responded positively to Mr Sarkozy, saying Moscow could refrain from taking any "unilateral action" before a summit next year.
Up until now the EU has insisted the missile defence shield is a bilateral issue between the US, Czech Republic and Poland. But Mr Sarkozy's intervention at yesterday's EU-Russia summit suggests he believes the controversial missile defence issue should now be seen in the wider context of European defence and the EU's relations with Russia.
Mr Sarkozy's comments come at a sensitive time with US president-elect Barack Obama's intentions still unclear on whether to continue the missile shield programme and continuing public opposition to the plan, particularly in the Czech Republic.
There will also be concern among some EU states and the US about Mr Sarkozy's decision to propose future talks on a security strategy involving Russia in the wake of the Georgian war in August.
US officials have already expressed concern to Brussels about its plans to restart partnership talks with Russia despite Moscow's failure to withdraw its troops from all parts of the enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia. US deputy assistant secretary of state David Merkel said in a statement that restarting the partnership talks before the commitments on Georgia were met could leave Moscow with the impression "the EU values its relationship with Russia far more than Moscow does with the EU".
Lithuania was the only EU state to oppose restarting partnership talks with Russia aimed at agreeing a comprehensive treaty covering political, economic and human rights. These talks will now begin on December 2nd. But some EU states will be nervous about Mr Sarkozy's plan to discuss a new pan-European security strategy. When Mr Medvedev first proposed the need to review security in Europe in a speech in Berlin in May he got little response from EU leaders, who feared it was simply a ploy to undermine Nato.
Mr Sarkozy sought to allay these fears yesterday by insisting Nato would first discuss the proposal at its April meeting and that the planned summit should be held under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
"The Russians do not want the OSCE involved at all so in a way Mr Sarkozy is calling their bluff. He is also signalling to Russia that the US and Nato will be involved in Europe's defence," said Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the think tank Centre for European Reform.
EU diplomats said there was a positive mood at the summit and Mr Medvedev was someone they "could do business with", hinting that they had felt uneasy dealing with the abrasive former president Vladimir Putin at previous EU-Russia summits.
They pointed to Russia's positive signals towards future WTO membership and its support for the EU's proposals to reform the global financial system, which will be discussed in Washington.
But differences remain over Russia's recognition of the Georgian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and whether it has complied with a six-point peace plan agreed between Mr Sarkozy and Mr Medvedev to end the conflict in September.
"The recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is our final decision. It is irrevocable," said Mr Medvedev after the summit. Mr Sarkozy said Russia has fulfilled a large part of its obligations under the peace plan, but insisted that more had to be done.
He strongly defended his decision to convene the EU-Russia summit and oversee the resumption of partnership talks with Russia. "Making dialogue is not a sign of weakness . . . I don't understand how we can overcome problems without talks," he said.