But the Sochi summit did not boil down to this minimum now. The final press conference of the three leaders turned out a spectacular event by itself, even with account for the fact that a lot from the three European countries' confiding conversations was not made public.
Thus, the Kyoto protocol issues mentioned by Vladimir Putin may become the beginning of a big information event. Mr. Chirac and Mr. Schroeder have long been actively talking Russia into joining this disputable agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. The Russian President's words at a press conference on this issue may be perceived as information on a complex deal that can in the rough boil down to removal of Russian concerns on trade relations with the EU and the EU's position on Russia's joining the WTO, in exchange for ratification by Moscow of the Kyoto protocol. At least, this subject is likely to reappear more than once.
It would be interesting to compare the positions of three meeting participants on Chechnya. Gerhard Schroeder evaded the question on whether he likes the course of elections over in Chechnya, but his answer included important words that Chechen elections cannot hinder the meeting of the Troika. In turn, Jacques Chirac clearly said that he has no grounds to contest the Chechen elections, and agreed with Mr. Putin on the issue of "contacts, negotiations and compromises" with different factions of Chechen society. Now, after the presidential and future parliamentary elections in Chechnya, certain shifts on this front may be expected.
On the whole, it is interesting why observers from the Organization of the Islamic Conference liked the elections they watched from a close distance, while the European Commission, which was not represented in Grozny, did not like them. This topic is likely to be discussed a lot in the future.
Every grain of information at this press conference looks like a mountain on closer examination. These are issues on deliveries of Russian oil to united Europe and their technological cooperation. This is only part of the talk started long ago.
It will become known later in what way the issue of the position of the OSCE and other European organizations on conflicts in Georgia and Moldova was discussed, if at all. The issue of the moral right and capability of the EU to participate in peacekeeping beyond its borders is important as well. Because if "the new Europe" cannot reach mutual understanding and success near its borders, what can it hope for in its relations with other, more remote and difficult, regions, whose residents are ready to take French nationals hostage and kill them because Moslem girls are not allowed to wear kerchiefs in French schools?
Anyway, the leaders of the three largest European states will have to speak more than once on these and other topics. This time, the main idea of the Sochi summit that took place against a background of terrorist acts in Russia and hostage-taking in Iraq is, in Mr. Putin's words, cooperation in the framework of the Troika, which "makes it possible to avoid new crisis situations in the world."
One of the main topics of the talks was regional problems - Iraq, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan. Regional conflicts as a source of international terrorism and instability, to be more exact.
The Sochi summit took place on the peak of the three countries' Mideast activity. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier is holding negotiations in the region on the release of French hostages in Iraq; his Germancounterpart Joschka Fischer is on a regular visit to Mideastern countries. This week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also visit Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Israel. Besides, France expects Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawr, and Russia expects Jordanian King Abdallah II and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Kurei. In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit Turkey, where regional problems and the fight against terrorism will be discussed as well.
Now it is difficult to say whether these numerous talks will help to move closer to the resolution of regional conflicts and what they will result in. The talk is rather about working out a single mechanism of understanding what's going on. I.e., who can be called terrorists, who, occupants, what is a just and realizable settlement of a conflict and what is the limit of using force, regardless of whether Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Afghanistan, Russia, India and Pakistan, the U.S. or Europe are touched upon. If double standards are used in every case, each country will remain defenseless in the face of the threat of international terrorism. Mr. Putin, Mr. Schroeder and Mr. Chirac are looking for this mechanism during meetings with one another. This work continues during their negotiations with other European, American, and Asian politicians.
