RUSSIA/GEORGIA CONFLICT:THE EU COUNCIL maintained a semblance of unity over the Russia-Georgia conflict in summit conclusions issued yesterday. But discord between countries who are eager to resume partnership negotiations with Russia and those who oppose them could resurface at the foreign ministers' meeting on 10th and 11th November and the EU-Russia summit in Nice on November 14th.
The council welcomed the recent withdrawal of Russian troops from "security" zones adjacent to the breakaway Georgian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in line with the August 12th and September 8th agreements brokered by President Nicolas Sarkozy and president of the commission José Manuel Barroso.
An "in-depth evaluation of EU-Russia relations" is to be completed before next month's summit. At the same time, the council announced its intention of strengthening its neighbourhood policy towards the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
Britain, Poland and Lithuania are reluctant to resume partnership negotiations, while the French presidency and some EU members who are heavily reliant on Russian hydrocarbons favour a resumption. Russia's recognition of the "independence" of the breakaway enclaves on August 28th threatened to divide the EU between states who wanted sanctions and those more conciliatory towards Russia.
"There were already divisions among member states before the crisis," said Michael Webb, who heads the commission's Russia unit. "The emergency summit managed to keep a united front. I am freely admitting there are underlying differences among members. There is a danger this unity will break down."
To complicate matters, the first day of talks between Russia and Georgia, under EU and UN auspices in Geneva on Wednesday, quickly broke down over the breakaway enclaves, and are not due to resume until November 18th.
Mr Sarkozy made it clear he favours resuming the partnership agreement talks which the EU suspended on September 1st. "I think it's wiser to talk to our Russian neighbours in a positive spirit, a responsible way," he said.
The French president linked the Russia-Georgia and energy security-climate change issues. In its accession agreement, Lithuania agreed to shut down its nuclear power plant by 2010. "That's something I'd like to have on the agenda of the EU-Russia summit," Mr Sarkozy said, leading to speculation that Lithuania might be allowed to operate its nuclear plant for longer if it drops opposition to negotiations with Russia.
Mr Sarkozy said he was not surprised that the Russia-Georgia talks got off to a bad start, since the countries went to war only two months ago. "But you don't give up," he said. "You don't create a clash between Russia and Europe."
Russia has 7,600 troops in the breakaway enclaves; Washington says they should be allowed to keep only 500. And there are still 25,000 internally displaced people from the August war.