11 Tháng 11, 2008 - Published 14:03 GMT

Thỏa thuận mới giữa EU và Nga

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

to go back to the negotiating table
quay lại bàn đàm phán, tái tục đối thoại

most vocal critics
trong trường hợp này là những nước lớn tiếng phê phán việc Nga gây chiến với Gruzia

turning the page on
quên đi, bỏ qua

to engage properly with
tham gia và quan tâm một cách hữu ích và thực tiễn cho cả hai phía

going about it
xử lý với tình hình

hard-headed
suy nghĩ logic, cứng rắn và không tình cảm

the view of Lithuania
quan điểm của Lithuania (Litva), tức là nước này muốn xử lý tình hình như thế nào

a veto on
quyền phủ quyết

give a green light
bật đèn xanh, trong trường hợp này là cho phép đối thoại được tiến hành

the shadow cast
hậu quả tiêu cực