The partnership agreement approved Tuesday by Russia and the EU is believed to bring closer ties in key areas of mutual interest but relations are still clouded by border issues and differences over visa rules and illegal immigration, analysts said.  

Broad partnership

The Russia-EU partnership agreement, approved at a Russia-EU summit meeting a day after EU leaders gathered in Moscow to join other world leaders for the extravaganza marking the 60th anniversary of Soviet victory in World War II, covers four key areas of mutual interest: economy, justice, security and culture.

Under the agreement, Russia and the EU agreed to work toward a common economic space that will ultimately lead to an open and integrated market covering such sectors as telecommunications, transport, energy, space, and environmental protection.

The EU is now Russia's largest trading partner, with over half of Russia's exports bound for the bloc, while Russia supplies about 30 percent of the EU's oil and gas needs. Bilateral trade totaled US$125 billion last year.

The partnership agreement also defines a common space of freedom and justice to promote equality, common values in democracy and the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights and rights of national minorities.

It also envisions a common security space, which Russian President Vladimir Putin said will "help efficiently combat terrorist aggression, xenophobia and racial intolerance."

Speaking at a joint press conference following the summit in the Kremlin, Putin hailed the approval of the agreement as a big step toward building a united Europe.

The partnership deal "could help us significantly advance towards building a common Europe without dividing lines and provide conditions for free contacts between people," Putin said.

"We all want to see a democratic and prosperous Russia appealing for foreign investment, as a natural partner for the EU," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

While Russian and EU officials hailed the deal, some analysts pointed to the acrimonious tones in their relations.

"This is a non-legally binding cooperation agreement that just puts existing issues under new headings. Yet for over a year, they could not agree on signing it, which gives an indication that the relations are not particularly good at the moment," Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Center for European Reform, told The Moscow Times.

Some Russian officials also cautioned against overestimating the significance of the partnership deal.

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, described the signing of the partnership deal as "the initial step on a long road."

"There will be many reefs on the way, many reasons for disagreement," Kosachev said.

Sticking points

Negotiations on the deal have foundered on two sticking points linked to the deal -- easing of visa rules for Russians traveling to the EU and returning of illegal immigrants in the EU who were from Russia.

The EU demands that Russia agree to take back those illegal immigrants if it were to ease visa requirements for Russians traveling to the bloc. Russia has agreed to continued talks on the two issues but said it takes time to solve them.

Russia "has a duty of solving the problem of readmission with its neighbors and developing the necessary border infrastructures," Putin said.

"We don't refuse to consider it, but the problem is it will require considerable spending and will take time," he said.

"The lifting of visas is a long-term undertaking. Russia will have to take very painful decisions for the abrogation of visas," Kosachev said.

Russia's relations with new EU member states Estonia and Latvia, two former Soviet republics in the Baltics, have also been soured by lingering border issues.

Estonian President Arnold Ruutel declined the invitation from Moscow to attend the May 9 victory celebrations. Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga came to Moscow for the event.

Russia said it is close to signing a border agreement with Estonia and ready for "constructive work" with Latvia.

"To the credit of our Estonian partners, I must say that they took pragmatic positions meeting their national interests. We have come close to signing these documents," Putin said.

Putin urged Latvian leaders to "give up political rhetoric and get down to constructive work," saying "Russia is prepared for such work."

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2005)