Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his government's tough stance on Georgia and dodged EU leaders' demands Friday that he commit to a legally binding energy charter that would guarantee better access to Russia's oil and gas fields.Whatcha gonna do about it, eh?
The 25 EU leaders, meeting with Putin over dinner following a one-day summit on energy, also grilled Putin about the recent killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya - an apparent execution-style slaying that EU leaders raised as an example of slipping human rights in Russia.
This fois gras is excellent. Have you tried it? You were saying?
Putin called her death "a brutal murder" and pledged to hunt down her killers, diplomats said.
We'll get right on it. What's for dessert?
But he sidestepped European appeals for moderation on Georgia, and said he was acting to prevent conflict between Georgia and its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have close ties to Russia.
My, what long noses you have.
"To our great sorrow and concern, the situation is developing in the direction of possible bloodshed," Putin told reporters. He accused Georgia of trying to take back the two regions "by military means. This is what you and I should be afraid of ... bloodshed in that region."
'Sides, whatcha gonna do about it, eh?
Russia and Georgia have had a history of friction since they went their separate ways with the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago.
It's a kind of nostalgia, y'see.
The Kremlin has recently cracked down on Georgian migrants in Russia as retaliation for Georgia's arrest in late September of four Russian military officers on charges of espionage. Russia has deported hundreds of people and closed dozens of Georgian-run firms and restaurants.
We didn't like their fois gras.
Summit host Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen confronted Putin on human rights and democracy in Russia, as well as EU concerns about Moscow's military campaign in Chechnya, officials and diplomats said.
Finns. Shoulda eaten you 50 years ago.
"It was a tough message," Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus told The Associated Press. But Putin "was very forceful" in defending his country's policy on Chechnya.
I was tough, I tells ya. Um, yeah, he was tough, too.
EU leaders spent Friday in the lakeside town of Lahti, north of Helsinki, forging a united front on energy before meeting with Putin in the evening.
So, who wants to go first?
Not me, you do it.
No way. He looks like Blofeld!
I know, we'll get the Finns to do it!
The leaders of the European Union - which already depends on Russia for a quarter of its energy - urged Putin to implement a legally binding energy charter that would ensure supplies of Russian oil and gas for Europe.
We want you to put it in writing. Then we can send you strongly-worded letters and take you to the ICJ!
| And we all know how good the Russians are at honoring their word. |
Cuz it gets cold here in LalaLand! We don't know if we can trust you... izzat 'sposed to be democracy? Hmmm, doesn't look much like democracy.
| "We demand that you sell us oil and natural gas at the price we want to pay!" |
Eat vacuum, bitch!
"From the economic point of view, we demand that Russia is a stable and reliable supplier," said Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
Um, okay, if "demand" is too strong, how about "We beg you, Tsar Pootie?"
The 25 EU leaders succeeded in devising a common stance on how to approach Russia on energy - but Putin disagreed with their views, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip told the AP.
We were united! And he told us to piss off. *sniff* Now what?
"The European Union was speaking in one voice - one single voice - and of course, Russia wasn't speaking in the same voice," he said with a laugh.
We gave 'im a script 'n everything! He thinks he's Marlon Brando.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Friday's talks with Putin were just the start of a wider discussion on EU's partnership with Moscow. The two sides meet again Nov. 24 for an EU-Russia summit.
Just the beginning. Yes.