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| DECISIONS BY THE BLACK SEA SHORE 07/04/2008 |
| (2008-04-09) |
| Last updated: 2008-04-09 17:09 EET |
The image of the Romanian and US presidents, Traian Basescu and George W. Bush, giving a joint press conference against the Black Sea background went around the world last week. Organised on the sidelines of the NATO Summit which for three days brought together in Bucharest the military and political decision-makers of the Alliance, the meeting was described by the Romanian mass media as a propaganda coup for the Head of the Romanian State, and the location as very well chosen. Four days later, the Black Sea returned to the spotlight, as the White House leader travelled to Sochi, Crimea, to meet the Russian president. The two leaders, whose terms in office are drawing to a close, appeared as friendly as ever before, although concrete results over major contentious issues were not achieved. In Washington, our correspondent Doina Saiciuc summarised the outcomes of the Bush-Putin talks.
“While on Saturday Bush and Putin easily found common grounds on a topic they both enjoy – sports – and danced a traditional dance on a tune sung by a Kazakh choir, on Sunday the American President and his Russian counterpart failed to overcome the stark differences of opinions regarding the American anti-missile defence plan in Central Europe. Observers note that, although they tried to emphasise the good personal relationship, praising each other a lot, they both admitted nonetheless that serious disagreements subsisted between them, primarily over the anti-missile defence system and the eastward enlargement of the North-Atlantic Alliance.”
Washington intends to install a radar in the Czech Republic and ten missile interceptors in Poland. Moscow, which feels threatened, has more than once raised concerns as to the plan, in spite of American attempts at allaying them. In 2007, Kremlin proposed a compromise, inviting the United States to use jointly with Russia a radar facility located in Gabala, Azerbaijan. In Sochi, the White House leader once again emphasised that the anti-missile shield that Washington wanted to install in Europe was not targeted against Russia, and that people ought to understand that the Cold War was over. But Vladimir Putin expressed “cautious optimism” with respect to chances of reching an agreement, and underscored that the two countries continued to have “very different views on certain issues.”
Still, the joint statement by the two leaders reads that quote “both parties have expressed interest in creating a system to respond to potential missile threats, a system in which Russia, the United States and Europe take part as equal partners” unquote. Sunday's meeting was also a new opportunity for President Putin to reiterate his opposition to the NATO enlargement, which in his opinion is rooted in quote “the logic of another era” unquote. In the Bucharest Summit, the leaders of the North-Atlantic Alliance decided to postpone a decision on the NATO Membership Action Plan for Ukraine and Georgia to December, although the outcome document adopted on this occasion stipulates the eventual accession of the two states to the organisation.
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2025-04-03
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