21 May 2004 00:00
Russia dashes hopes of early move on Kyoto
ByLine: By ANDREW JACK
Russia will offer no assurances on ratifying the Kyoto protocol on
environmental emissions at its summit with the European Union today, top
officials indicated yesterday.
As talks continued late last night about whether the EU would endorse
Russia's membership of the World Trade Organisation - there have been
suggestions that Kyoto could be "linked" to this decision - a
senior Kremlin source ruled out offering any such pledges.
Asked whether Kyoto would be on the agenda at the EU-Russia summit in Moscow,
he said: "We won't raise it". He added that "it would not
be serious" to offer any guarantees on its ratification by the Russian
parliament.
Vladimir Chizhov, deputy foreign minister in charge of European relations,
cast doubt on any swift ratification. He stressed it would need a
"political consensus" among Russia's political elites,
politicians and scientists, while today there were still "various points
of view".
"Russia certainly shares the goals of the Kyoto protocol," he said.
"But there is the issue of the terms: those offered to Russia and the
terms on which some other nations adhered to it and the motives that made
still other countries not to adhere to the Kyoto protocol."
The comments appeared to dash hopes that Russia might give its approval soon.
This casts doubt on the future of the protocol, which both President Vladimir
Putin and his former prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, had previously
promised to implement. Without Russia's endorsement, the protocol stands
little chance of going ahead.
Separately, Pascal Lamy, the EU trade commissioner, and German Gref,
Russia's minister for economic development and trade, were attempting to
reach a compromise in order to achieve agreement in time for today's
summit.
They met throughout the afternoon and evening. Officials said they had made
considerable progress and had reached agreement on 90 per cent of the
outstanding issues, with a mandate to sign if they could resolve the
remaining topics.
Brussels appears ready to accept assurances on a gradual move towards
liberalisation of Russia's subsidised domestic gas prices but is pushing
for greater clarity, as well as improved access to foreign investors in the
telecommunications and insurance sectors.
Moscow will allow foreign operators equal access to its gas pipeline network
but is resisting any specific timeframe. It argues that any swift
liberalisation of the domestic market would damage its industrial consumers.
* Mr Gref was yesterday confirmed in his job, alongside the other new
ministers appointed by President Vladimir Putin in a reshuffle in March. The
only change was the promotion of Leonid Reiman, a close friend of Mr Putin,
to his former status as minister of telecommunications. He had lost his
cabinet rank two months ago and been made head of an agency.
[INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY] |
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