EU FOREIGN MINISTERS HOLD INFORMAL TALKS IN CZECH REPUBLIC
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2009 11:11 GMT+04:00
A consensus has emerged at a meeting in the Czech Republic of EU
foreign ministers to invite Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
to an upcoming launch summit of the Eastern Partnership, on the tacit
understanding that the authoritarian leader does not show up at the
event himself.
According to diplomatic sources present at the meeting, the European
Commission, the EU’s executive arm, which has an office in Minsk,
appears to believe that if invited, Lukashenko would send his foreign
minister, Siarhey Martynau, or some other senior official in his stead.
The ministers are in the Czech Republic for two days of informal talks
at a scenic southern Bohemian castle that once belonged to the family
of their host, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.
After a debate on Belarus that Scwarzenberg described as "very open"
– diplomatic code for contentious – the EU appears convinced that it
can afford the gamble.
After the talks on March 27, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
indicated that the majority of the bloc’s member states would like
everyone to be present at the May 7 summit in Prague.
"As you know, an important summit has been convened by the Czech [EU]
presidency, a very important summit, and we would like everybody to
be present at that summit," Solana said. "We have discussed what could
be the best manner to have everybody around [the table] at that summit
in a constructive attitude. I don’t think we can go beyond that now."
But "everyone" might well be interpreted to mean "every country,"
not necessarily "every leader."
If it works, the stratagem could eliminate the risk of an offended
Belarus boycotting the summit altogether if Lukashenko is not
invited. On the other hand, Lukashenko’s absence could reduce the
danger of inevitably awkward scenes.
The Netherlands, in particular, has threatened to publicly upbraid
Lukashenko if he shows up in the manner of the treatment meted out
to the Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe at an EU-Africa summit a
few years ago.
Critics fear Lukashenko would exploit the summit limelight to air
his own, in all probability largely unreconstructed, views.
Many EU officials argue that Belarus’ presence at the summit – and in
the Eastern Partnership – is of vital importance to lend the project
credibility. Backers have long played up the project as an alternative
to Russia’s assertive quest for dominance outside its borders. Russia
itself has attacked the EU vehemently in recent weeks for purportedly
seeking to establish its own "sphere of influence."
Afghanistan, the Middle East, and the future of the Western Balkans
are also on the ministers’ agenda.
Schwarzenberg said the first day of discussion paved the way for a
trans-Atlantic exchange of views that is expected to take place in
Prague on April 5, when the 27 EU leaders meet with U.S. President
Barack Obama.
"There will be a discussion with the United States at the summit in
Prague exactly about this," Schwarzenberg said. "There the heads
of state of the EU will discuss with President Obama whatever we
can deliver."
Schwarzenberg did not directly respond to Obama’s recent calls for
greater EU involvement in Afghanistan, but said he "understands" the
United States expects the bloc to contribute "civilian" assistance
in the form of an enhanced "gendarmerie-style" police-training mission.
The EU foreign ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to a
"two-state" solution in Israel and the Palestinian territory, without
which Solana said there would be "no peace process, no solution."
The ministers are expected to meet their counterparts from the Western
Balkans for talks on the future of the region on the second day of
the gathering in Hluboka,