ब्रिटेन और स्वीडेन ने यूरोपीय संघ और रूस के बीच उन व्यापक समझौतों पर बातचीत दोबारा शुरू करने को समर्थन दिया है जो सितंबर में जॉर्जिया में रूसी युद्ध के बाद ठंडी पड़ गई थी. ब्रसेल्स से ओआना लंगेस्चू की रिपोर्ट...

रिपोर्ट सुनिए

Ten weeks after the EU made clear its concern over Georgia by delaying talks on a new deal with Russia, most countries in the bloc seem ready to go back to the negotiating table. Britain and Sweden, two of Moscow's most vocal critics, argued this didn't amount to turning the page on the conflict in Georgia. The British foreign secretary David Miliband said the issues covered by the new agreement - including energy, trade and human rights - would be in the EU's interests as well as Russia's.

MILIBAND:
I think that in the context of the global economic crisis, which has demonstrated Russia's vulnerabilities rather than its strengths, there is a new possibility of ensuring that EU unity is able to engage properly with Russia and engage in a way that respects our interests and our principles and values. I think that's the right way of going about it because in the end isolating Russia is not a good option for us. Far better to engage, but in a systematic and hard-headed way.

That's not the view of Lithuania, backed by Poland. They insist that Russia has failed to keep its commitments and shouldn't be rewarded. But under EU rules, they don't have a veto on talks that were simply postponed, not suspended. If the foreign ministers give a green light today, talks on the new agreement could resume in time for the EU-Russia summit in Nice later this week. For despite the shadow cast by the conflict in Georgia, Russia remains the EU's biggest energy supplier and its third largest trading partner, while the EU is the biggest investor in Russia.

Oana Lungescu, BBC News, Brussels

आवाज़ सुनिए

to go back to the negotiating table
बातचीत दोबारा प्रारंभ करना

most vocal critics
बहुत मुखर आलोचक

turning the page on
भूल जाना

to engage properly with
ऐसी बात में रुचि बनाए रखना जो दोनों के हित में हो

going about it
स्थिति से निबटना

hard-headed
बिना किसी संवेदना के, पूरी तरह प्रतिबद्ध

the view of Lithuania
लिथुआनिया इस स्थिति को कैसे देखता है

a veto on
रोकने या स्थगित करने का अधिकार

give a green light
हरी झंडी दिखाना

the shadow cast
दुष्प्रभाव