It was hoped that the two-day EU-Russia summit in Samara near the Volga river starting on May 18 would mark the launch of talks on a new wide-ranging partnership agreement, which the Europeans see as key to securing reliable oil and supplies from their giant neighbor. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday. In both cases, Western leaders are likely to encounter energy-rich Russia’s increasingly combative stance — and return home with little to show. “It is important that we try to calm things down and get back to a factual level for our discussions,” one EU diplomatic source said ahead of the Brussels talks on Monday. “We know that the Russians are getting hot and bothered as well.” German Foreign Minster Frank-Walter Steinmeier, however, said it would be impossible to predetermine exactly what the EU-Russia summit results would be. “The situation is complicated but particularly in time of difficulties is important to talk,” he said before the preparatory meeting of EU ministers. “We are going to try right up to the summit to resolve the conflict concerning Polish meat. I can’t say whether we’ll be successful.” Steinmeier added that… Read full this story
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