EU and Russia spar on human rights at tense talks

The leaders of the European Union and Russia exchanged sharp words on human rights and Georgia yesterday, after talks intended to clear the air following New Year disruptions of Russian gas supplies to Europe.

EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso said he had raised concerns about several high-profile murders of Russian reporters and human rights activists, drawing a sharp response from Russia's powerful prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

"I informed Medvedev that in European public opinion there is some concern regarding some recent events... the murder of some journalists and human rights activists," Mr Barroso said at a joint briefing with Mr Putin.

A prominent human rights lawyer and a young reporter were killed in central Moscow last month by an unknown attacker.

But a visibly irritated Mr Putin said: "Mr Barroso discussed this in the Kremlin, but announced it here at a press conference, even though President Medvedev is absent and can thus say nothing about it".

Mr Putin said he was concerned by violations of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities in Baltic states, and accused the European Union of breaching the human rights of immigrants.

"I ask you to accept the puck from the Russian government," Mr Putin said.

The talks were intended to clear the air between the 27-member bloc and Russia after the January gas dispute, which cut off many European states for almost two weeks in the depths of winter and underlined EU dependence on supplies from Russia.

The EU, Russia's biggest trading partner, had cooled its ties with Moscow in protest at its behaviour during and after the war last year with Georgia.

Russia says the war was provoked by Georgian aggression against two rebel regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and has recognised them as independent states.

The EU's current Czech presidency said on the eve of the visit that Kremlin plans to build military bases in the two regions would violate Georgian sovereignty.

Mr Putin drew a parallel with Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia last year in the face of fierce Russian opposition.

"If in one part of Europe small peoples have a right to independence, then why should they not be allowed the same right in other parts of Europe?" he said.

Before meeting Mr Putin, Mr Barroso told Mr Medvedev that the gas crisis should never have happened, but that he welcomed Mr Medvedev's role in resolving the dispute.

"It is important now to create conditions for this kind of crisis not to happen again. We believe energy security is a very important sphere of interest for Russia and the European Union," Mr Barroso told reporters.

He said Moscow and Brussels should continue to work on a wide-ranging Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, and that the EU supported Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation.

Mr Putin said Moscow was willing to compromise on the gas issue, but that it wanted to be respected.

"We are prepared to find compromises and move towards our partners while understanding and respecting their interests but we demand the same relations towards Russia," he said.