Video: EU-Russia Summit

Here is an +10 minute AlJazeera English news report on this week’s EU-Russia Summit, including interviews with Oksana Antonenko of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Dmitri Suslov of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, and Ariel Cohen of Heritage Foundation in Washington DC. For those without the patience to watch, Antonenko accuses the new EU member states of “holding the negotiations hostage” because they want the EU, their new patron, to address historical grievances with Russia. Antonenko doesn’t seem to question the legitimacy of the Polish meat ban or the Estonia issue. Suslov says that Russia is actually thankful for Poland’s veto of the Commission’s mandate on the Strategic Partnership Treaty, as the negotiations would have made it more difficult for Russia to pursue its interests in energy and trade. Ariel Cohen says that the United States is increasingly concerned about European dependence on Russian energy, and even points out the agreement with Algeria and the potential of a future gas cartel. Dr. Cohen also directly picks up the ball from Suslov’s comments about Russia’s distance from the EU, and asks who, exactly, is Russia getting closer to?