Mini-incident marks EU-Russia meeting
Last week’s EU-Russia meeting was intended to improve ties in the wake of the recent gas crisis. Far from all want as smoothly as planne however. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were openly irritated with eachother at their joint press conference. Human rights issues were the main reason.
A visibly angry Mr Putin during a press conference in Moscow censured the commission chief for having discussed “legal matters” with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a bilateral meeting in his absence earlier the same day, EUobserver reports.
- We need to discuss the full range of problems - both in Russia and in Europe - in order to be able to solve them, Mr Putin said, accusing EU states of themselves mistreating Russian ethnic minorities, prisoners and migrants.
- In [EU] public opinion there is some concern regarding some recent events that happened in Russia. Namely, the murder of some journalists and some rights activists, Mr Barroso replied in bullish tones. - Human rights and rule of law are much more important than diplomacy between two states.
The unusual exchange comes after the recent slaying, in broad daylight in the Russian capital, of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasiya Baburova, who investigated state killings and torture in North Caucasus.
Mr Barroso had flown over with nine commissioners to meet with the Russian government in the first such high-profile event since 2005, EUobserver writes.
Read more about the press conference at the Russian government website
