Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

President Vladimir Ptuin: Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to thank our colleagues from the European Union for their constructive and interested participation in today’s talks. The dialogue that took place was not only constructive but was also, and this is of principle importance, productive. One of the most important concrete results is the Protocol on completion of bilateral talks on the Russian Federation’s accession to the World Trade Organisation, which has just been signed. This is a long-awaited and balanced agreement.

This summit in Moscow is the first since the European Union’s enlargement. It is good that it ended on such a positive note. Many of the European Union’s new members are Russia’s closest neighbours and it was important for us to maintain opportunities for broad economic cooperation with them. At the same time, Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about the situation with human rights in some of the new EU member states. We also discussed this question today.

Today I can say that through dialogue we have been able to take mutually acceptable decisions on many problems. This position is reflected in the joint declaration on EU enlargement and on Russian-European Union relations. The European Union has committed itself politically to minimising the trade and economic consequences that EU enlargement will have for Russia’s interests. This will enable Russian exporters to retain their traditional markets and for us to maintain our traditional trade flows with these ten new EU members. We will draw up a special agreement on freight transit through Kaliningrad Region. I would like to note that we have already made a lot of progress in this direction. Many passenger transit matters have already been resolved and settled through our hard work together. There are still questions regarding freight transit to be settled. But I want to say, and we discussed this today, the fact that our trade and economic cooperation has continued smoothly since May 1 is also the result of our joint work and the constructive position our partners have taken.

Now we must ensure that the agreements we have reached are implemented in full and we have instructed our representatives to make sure this full and timely implementation goes ahead. This will create the necessary conditions for speedy ratification of the Protocol on extending the Russia-European Union agreements on partnership and cooperation to the new members of the European Union.

Together with our colleagues we have reaffirmed our readiness to begin work on creating four common spaces that will link Russia and the European Union. The plan is to create common spaces in the areas of the economy, freedom, security and justice, external security cooperation, and also scientific research, education and culture.

Russia has already designated the people who will coordinate work in each of these areas. This work will take into account the experience built up by the Russia-European Union joint institutions, in particular, by the high-level groups on creating a common European economic space and on energy dialogue. If necessary, we will draw up the corresponding road maps for each of these areas. I am sure that implementing these large-scale common European projects will enable us to make a lot of headway in building a united Greater Europe, a continent which has all the right conditions for free contacts between peoples and which provides reliable guarantees for human rights, including the rights of national minorities.

It is essential that Russia and the European Union join their potential in order to ensure stability and security in Europe and to combat international terrorism. Finally, our economic, scientific and technological integration will considerably boost both Russia’s and the European Union’s ability to compete on world markets. Our discussions of today’s international problems showed that we are united. Now we must build up our foreign policy cooperation, all the more so as we share the same or similar views on many issues. Both Russia and the European Union support, for example, an increased role for the international community in regulating the conflict in the Middle East and normalising the situation in Iraq.

Overall, our discussions showed that Russia and the European Union are both set on continuing a dialogue of confidence and are able to find mutually acceptable solutions to any, even the most complicated problems. I am convinced that this guarantees a successful future for our partnership.

Thank you for your attention. I would now like to give the floor to my colleagues. Please, Mr Prime Minister.

Bertie Ahern: Thank you very much, Mr President. We have just ended the first Russia-European Union summit since the European Union’s enlargement. This enlargement opens up new opportunities for all the peoples of Europe. It is important that the EU and Russia met to take practical steps toward strengthening our cooperation so as to speed up work on creating the four common spaces that the President mentioned. At the summit in St. Petersburg last year, we agreed on how to transform relations between Russia and the European Union. This will enable us to make progress on our common interests. In doing this, the European Union underscores that enlargement will not create a new dividing line in Europe, but on the contrary, will bring Europe closer together. In Luxembourg we came to an accord on our partnership agreement, and the ten new EU members committed themselves to joining it. Our new joint declaration signals a turning point in our partnership and we have said that the EU is fully committed to keeping to it.

We are grateful to President Putin for trying not to delay ratification of the protocol. Our trade relations have also gained a more favourable outlook during these talks between the EU and Russia.

It is pleasing that today we were able to confirm the successful conclusion of talks on Russia’s accession to the WTO. Our agreement represents a joint step towards opening the markets in Europe. Russia’s accession to the WTO will give new impetus to trade and investments between Russia and the European Union and will open up new opportunities for the peoples of Russia and the EU.

We also noted the importance of environmental cooperation. You know our position well. The EU emphasised that the WTO talks have brought new clarity and this could simplify ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. As strategic partners we have always openly discussed any questions of concern, including human rights. We have discussed our respective positions on Chechnya. The European Union is firm in its condemnation of the recent events in Chechnya in which people lost their lives. President Putin has expressed determination to rebuild and bring democracy to Chechnya.

Twenty million euros were allocated to humanitarian problems over the past years and we will continue this kind of humanitarian aid.

We welcome the decision to ratify the agreements with Estonia and Latvia.

Our discussion of international issues was very useful for both sides regarding Iraq and the Middle East.

Allow me to say in conclusion that the quality and tone of today’s discussion give my colleagues and myself the certainty that relations between Russia and the EU have reached a new level of trust and commitment to cooperate in order to resolve the common economic and security problems that we face.

I would also like to give recognition to the enormous work on cooperation by our colleagues from the commission, the work that Russia has done on accession to the WTO. We greatly value this work over the last weeks.

Thank you.

Romano Prodi: Thank you. As the Irish Prime Minister said, today’s summit is the first Russia-EU summit since President Putin began his second term in office. For me, on the contrary, it is my last summit as President of the European Commission. For me this is personally important, emotionally important. These five years really have been wonderful for our relations over my time as President. We have made vast improvements to and have intensified our relations, both in terms of quality and quantity. Today, Russia and the EU really are strategic partners and we share common aims not only in Europe but in the world.

It is clear that enlargement was a major priority during my mandate. It was also an important part in maintaining strong and friendly ties with Russia, because following enlargement, Russia now has 1500 kilometres of common border with the EU.

It was always my view that enlargement should create new opportunities for our neighbours, not divide us.

The framework of our Partnership and Cooperation Agreement now extends to 25 countries and 450 million people. Creative efforts enabled us to find good solutions to the issue of Kaliningrad transit. The next stage is to concentrate our attention on developing this region because joint action by Russia and the EU will make Kaliningrad a window onto Russia.

Second, our cooperation has reached a historically important level in work on preparing the common spaces and on the energy dialogue. No one today would dispute the need for energy sector cooperation. We take it for granted now that we will continue moving forward in the future. This was not the case several years ago when we first began studying this idea.

We have made considerable progress in many areas, including trade in nuclear materials, financing for pilot projects and exchange of technology. We now have a great degree of dependence and we must continue to further this cooperation. As for the common space, many people expressed doubts about this idea. Today we have a draft action plan and a road map that will lead to greater and more useful integration of Russia and the European Union. We will be able to have a far-reaching impact at global level. Today, by concluding the talks on Russia’s accession to the WTO, we have acted in precisely this way and have shown others the road to follow. I am happy that the bilateral agreement between Russia and the EU was concluded today. It is, of course, a compromise, but any negotiations result in a compromise. Both sides have made concessions in order take into account the more sensitive political and economic aspects.

I would like to thank the participants in the negotiations on both sides. They have done a lot of hard and serious work and have built up an invaluable capital of mutual understanding that is so important for the future.

Thank you. Mr Lamy and Mr Gref will give the press more details about the signature later.

Finally, I would like to say a few words personally, as this is my last summit, and give you your due, Vladimir, for your cooperation, but even more for your friendship. It has been my pleasure to enjoy your friendship over these years.

EU enlargement, the common space, energy dialogue, accession to the WTO – together we have achieved much. But the greatest achievement is that Russia and the EU have become closer to each other.

There is still a lot of practical work to be done but I am confident that we have built a solid foundation on which to develop our relations in the future.

Thank you, Vladimir.

Question: Do you hope that the signature of today’s document will make it possible to obtain the United States’ agreement on accession talks to the WTO and on the Kyoto Protocol?

Vladimir Putin: I understand that you are asking about the WTO and the Kyoto Protocol.

I must say that we did not link the WTO and the Kyoto Protocol. Regarding the WTO, this is a crucially important stage in our cooperation with the European Union. As President Romano Prodi said, it is the result of a compromise. I do think, of course, that it will have a positive influence on Russia’s talks with its other partners, the United States, the People’s Republic of China and other leading world trade powers. We hope, of course, for a positive outcome to these negotiations. We think that Russia should be a member of the WTO and we are working towards this on conditions we consider acceptable.

Regarding the second part of your question, on the Kyoto Protocol, we have long since made our position clear. We are for the Kyoto process and we support it. We do have some concerns regarding the commitments we would have to take on. But one of the biggest concerns was that we had to face several issues all at once that imposed serious commitments on us and gave rise to a great number of risks: EU enlargement, Kyoto itself with its potential complications and consequences, and the process of our accession to the World Trade Organisation. The European Union has made some concessions on some points during the negotiations on the WTO. This will inevitably have an impact on our positive attitude to the Kyoto process. We will speed up Russia’s movement towards ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.

Bertie Ahern: Regarding your second question, as you know, a lot of progress was made at the meeting of the “quartet” just a few weeks ago. The question now is to implement its decisions. But we have principles that we want to see implemented too. The issue of Iraq is now being examined and Mr Brahimi continues working on the question of the UN resolution. Of course, something will be decided over the course of the weekend. Mr Cowen will also touch on this important aspect. As far as I know, regarding Afghanistan, there is a very good chance of looking at Russia’s membership in the tripartite committee. We exchanged views with our Russian colleagues on these international issues and we reaffirmed our cooperation and desire to work together. I do not think there are any differences between us here, just the desire to cooperate.

Question: What are the prospects for a visa-free regime between Russia and the European Union? We often hear statements about simplifying the visa regime with individual countries in the European Union at bilateral talks, but what is the EU’s overall position on this issue?

My second question is for the Russian President. How can Russia move forward on this issue? Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: If you will allow me, I will begin so to give my colleagues time to collect their thoughts.

Overall, we see the negotiations as progressing very constructively. We sense that our European partners have a positive attitude regarding this matter. The basic position we all share is that fundamental human rights should be ensured throughout the European continent. In this we share the same approach. We, of course, as can be expected, insist on a speedy settlement for these questions. Now for the second part of your question. You asked me what we can do? To give you an honest and direct answer, Russia still has a lot to do before being able to benefit in full from the same rights that European Union member states’ citizens enjoy, including freedom of movement. We need to strengthen our external borders and regulate our relations with our neighbours, on mutually acceptable conditions, of course. These are complicated questions but we are fully intent on resolving them and we sense that our partners share this same mood.

As for bilateral relations, one does not contradict the other. We already have, for example, agreements with Germany and with Italy and we are moving towards concluding agreements that will simplify travel for certain categories of people from our countries. But this does not contradict or complicate our negotiating process with the European Union as a whole. We want to regulate this matter with the European Union as a whole and not just with individual countries, although reaching agreements with individual countries helps this general process.

Romano Prodi: Regarding visas, I can say in brief that we discussed this question. As you know, there are many difficulties that need to be sorted out. All of these questions can be resolved – it is just a question of time. There must be solutions to these questions. Of course, we discussed today how we can make progress in this area. We also discussed specific steps on each side and how to go about them. A visa-free regime is our common objective and we do want to achieve this.

Question: Mr Ahern, are you disappointed that Russia has not yet committed itself to ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and that you cannot fully liberalise Gazprom? Are you worried that Russia might not fulfil its future commitments?

Mr Putin, what signals are you sending Russian society regarding the criminal prosecution of Yukos and its potential bankruptcy? What is this form of confiscating Yukos’ shares and what would you like to see happen with these shares?

Bertie Ahern: Allow me to answer this question. Let’s not jump from one question to another. We are, of course, pleased to have successfully concluded negotiations on Russia’s accession to the WTO. This is an enormous document – 400 pages. It includes a huge number of issues and economic questions. I heard what President Putin said today about Kyoto. We must continue to work on this. We are not in the slightest disappointed. We are pleased that we will continue this work and will arrive at a successful outcome.

As for the agreements we have, we signed the Partnership Agreement. I am confident that thanks to the high level of cooperation we achieved today on the question of opening markets in Europe, we have set a positive agenda. We will examine these questions. We have the positive decision to work together on a whole series of issues. I think that with time this enable us to successfully resolve the Kyoto question, and perhaps in the not so distant future.

Vladimir Putin: If you will allow me, I would like to add to what my colleague, Mr Prime Minister, has just said and to repeat once again what I said in replying to your colleague’s question on the Kyoto Protocol, the WTO and our views on these matters.

We expressed concern that EU enlargement, the complications involved in the WTO negotiating process and our full adherence to the Kyoto process could give rise to problems for the Russian economy in the long and medium term. At any rate, there are a good number of potential unpredictable risks that we would face. This was our concern and it was listened to. I want to emphasise that we did not push our demands at all costs, but rather, we listened to each other and reached agreement on taking certain steps regarding EU enlargement and found certain solutions for the problem of transit to and from Kaliningrad Oblast.

We have just witnessed the agreement on Russia’s accession to the WTO. This reduces the risk for our economy in the medium term and it frees us to a certain extent to move faster to resolve the question of Russia joining the Kyoto process.

I cannot tell you with 100 percent certainty exactly how this will proceed because ratification is the responsibility not of the President but of the Russian parliament. But we will speed up this process, as I already said.

Now, regarding the Yukos affair and what kind of signals we want to send the public, there is only one signal and it is not we who send it but the Prosecutor General’s Office. To make things clear, criminal prosecution is the affair of the law enforcement agencies with the Prosecutor General’s Office the key link here. The main signal is simply that you should not steal. Everyone must obey the law no matter what their status or the number of billions in their personal or corporate accounts. I have already spoken about this before. Everyone must be equal before the law. As far as I am aware, one case is now already before the courts. The court will decide whether or not the people accused by the Prosecutor General’s Office of crimes are guilty, and if they are guilty, then exactly what they are guilty of doing. I do not think it right and acceptable to discuss these matters earlier because this, in any case, only serves to put pressure on the courts.

Question: My question is for the European Union representatives. You said that the issue of the Russian-speaking population was discussed at the summit today. Estonia and Latvia currently practice a policy of discrimination and violate the rights of the Russian-speaking population. But this has not stopped the European Union from accepting these countries as its members. The European Union also displays an amazing lack of reaction to Nazi propaganda in Latvia. In this way, it seems, economic problems are not the only problems arising out of EU enlargement. There are also political problems on the agenda. Can you give more detail about how exactly you discussed this subject at the summit? Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I will begin, if you will allow. We discussed a lot of problems today that are not always easy for us. We discussed the problem of Chechnya and we also talked about subjects that I think are not always so easy for our colleagues – the failure to observe human rights in the Baltic states. There are many problems. But I want to draw your attention to the main thing, which is that we have the desire to resolve these problems and we take a constructive approach to their resolution.

I do not want to go deeper now into the specifics of the issues you raised. I think there really are still matters to be resolved in this area, and we all must keep this within our attention. But I would like to point out that a group of parliamentary deputies and deputies of the EU parliament recently visited Latvia and drew their conclusions about what is happening there in terms of Nazi propaganda. I am sure that this wave linked to enlargement will subside and the new EU members will have to adjust to the united Europe’s common conception of human rights. This will definitely happen. I hope that the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic countries will feel the positive benefits of this process. We, for our part, will, of course, support this process.

Bertie Ahern: If I may add, we have tried to resolve the minorities issue and this was stated in the European Union’s position. We believe that Estonia and Latvia are observing in full the Copenhagen criteria and political criteria, but we have heard some criticism and we are ready to discuss this. When it comes to human rights we are open to discuss all questions. We have set out our respective positions clearly and now must resolve these matters in such a way as to satisfy both sides. That is what we are talking about today. We must become a part of this process and that is what we are doing.

Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to say a few words in conclusion.

Mr Prodi put me in a somewhat awkward position by thanking me for our joint work in such complimentary terms. We have this well-known phrase from a fable, “The cuckoo praises the rooster for praising the cuckoo.” I do not want to be like the characters in this fable, but I cannot end this press conference without first thanking Mr Prodi and all his colleagues who will end their mandate in October this year. Many of them, I hope, will continue their work, and some of them will leave. We have covered a lot of ground together over these years. There were a good many disputes, many, I would even say, micro-conflicts that were not visible on the surface. But much important work was done on creating Greater Europe, greater in the broadest sense of the word.

I would like to thank Mr Prodi not only for the results achieved, and they are visible for all to see, I want to thank him and his colleagues for the spirit of comradeship, mutual assistance, support and positive approach to resolving problems that accompanied all the work between Russia and the European Commission over these past years. This was in large part thanks to Mr Prodi’s efforts and the efforts of his colleagues, the European Commissioners. Wherever Mr Prodi ends up in the future, I am sure that we will be able to make use of his experience and knowledge in order to further the development of relations between Russia and the European Union.

Romano, thank you very much.