Russian, EU Leaders Trade Barbs At Fractious Summit
In a summit already strained by weeks of discord over trade, security and energy issues, Russian and European Union leaders ended their two-day meeting exchanging barbs over human rights and failing to start talks aimed at bringing the two economies closer together.

During an unusually long and acrimonious news conference in Volshsky Utyos, near the southern Russian city of Samara, the differences between the two sides were stark, with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and European Commission President Jose Maria Barossa clashing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In her ninth meeting with Putin since becoming chancellor in 2005, Merkel was blunt about the lack of cooperation between the EU and Russia. "Our talks today showed that we are not cooperating very intensively," she said.

The chancellor, who has consistently made her views known to Putin about the lack of press freedom and his poor human rights record, criticized the Russian authorities for preventing Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion turned opposition leader and his supporters from traveling to the summit. They were stopped at the Moscow airport where police confiscated their passports and tickets and detained them for five hours.

"I say it completely openly that it is my wish that those who wish to demonstrate can do so in Samara," said Merkel who grew up in communist East Germany where Putin once served as a KGB officer. "I'm concerned about some people having problems in traveling here. I hope they will be given an opportunity to express their opinion."

Putin, who became visibly irritated after being repeatedly asked about human rights, said the opposition had to abide by the law. Kasparov told the British Broadcasting Corporation on Friday that he had been granted authorization from local officials Samara to demonstrate but that "orders from above" had disrupted his plans.

When Putin was asked by a German journalist why he was so afraid of demonstrators he replied: "They don't bother me in any way. All those who want to stage demonstrations in accordance with the law have such an opportunity. But some provoke law enforcement to use force and they respond accordingly."

Addressing at least 200 Russian and foreign journalists, Barroso said the EU placed great store in human rights. "We stress the importance of democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of association, freedom of demonstration," he said. "These are values I'm sure unite, not divide, us.

It's very important for all European countries, and Russia is a European country, to ensure the full respect of those principles and values."

Putin, who is expected to leave office in March 2008 after serving two terms, said his priority was to defend Russia's interests. "We need each other", he said referring to the EU, Russia's largest trading partner. "We are open for an honest dialogue between Russia and the EU. But we must defend out interests in the same professional way as our partners do that."

Before the press conference, the three leaders discussed how to resolve disputes that included the future status of Kosovo, Russia's ban on imports of Polish meat and energy security.

EU diplomats said Putin gave no indication that he would accept Kosovo's independence from Serbia. Senior Russian officials have even suggested they would veto a new UN Security Council resolution that would end the UN's eight-year-old protectorate of Kosovo and pave the way for the EU to supervise Kosovo's independence.

Putin also refused to lift the embargo on Polish meat products, repeating that they did not meet EU health standards. As a result, Poland has vetoed the start of the new trade talks which would replace the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1997. Putin said Friday he wanted a new trade accord that reflected Russia's new self confidence and economic strength compared to the chaos of the 1990s.

Barroso questioned Russia's reasons for continuing its Polish meat ban. "We believe there are no reasons for a ban against Polish meat. If there was a reason, we would not allow Polish meat to circulate in the EU," he said.

Barroso also said that Russia could not isolate Poland from the rest of the bloc. "It is very important if you want to have close cooperation to understand that the EU is based on principles of solidarity," he said.

Putin responded by indirectly accusing Poland of "economic selfishness that does not always correspond to the EU's interests." He said he was aware of the EU position on the need for solidarity. "I asked my colleagues, and they did not take offense: are there any limits to this solidarity?" Putin asked at the press conference.

Relations between Poland and Russia, rarely warm, deteriorated after the election in late 2005 of a conservative nationalist government led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. They worsened last January when the U.S. announced plans to deploy part of missile defense system in Poland. Putin complained Friday that his Polish counterparts were not prepared to have a dialogue.