Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding separate talks today in Moscow with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Putin first met Rice at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also taking part.
The talks come amid tensions between Russia and the West and ahead of what is expected to be a chilly EU-Russia summit on May 18.
But Rice has played down divisions between Russia and the West, rejecting any talk of a new Cold War.
On her arrival in Moscow on May 14, Rice said it was "not an easy time" in the U.S.-Russian relationship and called for intensive diplomacy.
In recent months, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have been increasingly critical of the West, in particular the United States.
Last week, Putin made comments that many observers said compared U.S. policy to that of the Third Reich. The Kremlin has since said Putin did not intend to make that comparison.
Two issues most likely on the agenda at the Putin-Rice talks will be Russia's opposition to U.S. plans to deploy missile-defense systems in Central Europe and Moscow's concerns about a U.S.-backed UN plan to offer partial independence to Kosovo.
Samara Summit
With an EU-Russia summit in the southern Russian city of Samara on May 18, Russia's relations with the union don't look much better.
German Foreign Minister Steinmeier is currently in Moscow, in an apparent attempt to smooth over divisions ahead of the summit. Germany currently holds the rotating EU Presidency.
Efforts to come to an agreement on a new strategic-partnership accord between Russia and the EU remain on hold. Warsaw has said it will veto formal negotiations on the strategic partnership accord until Russia lifts a ban on Polish meat products.
Russia's ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, speaking on May 14 to Reuters in Brussels, underscored the differences between the two countries.
"I would say there are a number of issues that have been stalling [EU-Russian relations] -- some for well-known reasons, others for less well-known reasons -- and we could have achieved more progress definitely," Chizhov said.
EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on May 14 to put the finishing touches to the summit agenda.
Speaking after the meeting, Steinmeier said the summit was likely to be difficult.
"Is it the right time for a European-Russian summit? I am very happy that today, in the [foreign ministers' meeting], no one proposed that we cancel the summit. I personally hold the belief that we need talks precisely when times are more difficult," Steinmeier said.
But all the signals from Moscow indicate that Russia is not in the mood to compromise.
Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Putin's representative for EU affairs, said today that given the Polish veto, "there is no real sense" in even discussing the deal when Russian and EU officials meet at the Samara summit.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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