The Frosty Summit: EU & Russia Square-off
Putin brings his poker face
President Vladimir Putin, emboldened by Russia’s vast oil and gas wealth, bluntly rejected European criticism of his crackdown on political foes, saying Friday that “like it or not” Russia’s Western neighbors would have to accept it as a partner.
His remarks came hours after police prevented chess great Garry Kasparov from attending an opposition rally in Samara, near the Volga River resort where Putin held a summit with European Union leaders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the current EU president, objected at a post-summit news conference to the treatment of Kasparov and other Kremlin opponents, while Putin sought to take the subject of Russian political rights off the table.
“Both Russia and the EU are interested in the development of relations with each other, and they will develop whether we like it or not,” the Russian leader said, in an apparent reference to Europe’s growing reliance on Russia for its energy needs.
Putin questioned whether Europe was really concerned about the human rights records of its allies – citing the alleged abuse of terror suspects at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.
The summit produced no new agreements, and failed to make progress on commercial, security and other issues dividing Russia from Europe.
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Kasparov makes his move and is thwarted by pawns
Garry Kasparov yesterday called on Europe to face up to the fact that Russia is an authoritarian regime, not a democracy.
EU must see Putin is not a democrat, says Kasparov
Garry Kasparov: ‘Russia is an authoritarian regime’
The chess champion turned activist was prevented from staging a protest as EU leaders met with President Vladimir Putin.
“They should be honest,” he told The Daily Telegraph at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. “Russia is not a democratic regime, it is an authoritarian regime. Putin is not a democrat, they should recognise this.
“Giving him credentials as a democrat is very damaging for the opposition. Every time they do this it allows him to dismiss us as marginals and extremists.”
. . . The group, including this correspondent, were told their seats had either been overlooked or their tickets could not be recognised by Aeroflot’s computers.
They were questioned by police, who confiscated their passports.
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