To a party in Riga

Vladimir Putin gathered for Jacques Chirac's birthday

Yesterday the NATO summit opened in Riga. High-ranking officials of the Alliance have repeatedly emphasized that this event is “for our own”, in which exclusively the heads of state and government of NATO countries take part. However, yesterday there was sensational information that Russian President Vladimir Putin may arrive in Riga today. True, not as a guest of the Alliance summit, but as a participant in a party in honor of the birthday of French President Jacques Chirac, who turns 74 today.

The Latvian newspaper Diena reported yesterday about Putin's unexpected visit. The influential English-language newspaper International Herald Tribune explained that Chirac wants to invite Putin to a private event in Riga, which will begin after the summit officially closes.

The French presidential office said Russia had proposed hosting a dinner in Riga with the participation of three presidents - Vladimir Putin, Jacques Chirac and the hostess of the event, Vaira Vike-Freiberga. Latvian authorities refuse to comment. But British Prime Minister Tony Blair made it clear that he is aware of the Russian president's plans. Blair told reporters that he would not meet Vladimir Putin in Riga because he would leave the Latvian capital before the Russian leader arrived there. The Russian president himself was in Minsk yesterday, where the summit of the CIS countries was taking place.

The Diena newspaper emphasized that many diplomats are ambivalent about the possible arrival of Vladimir Putin, because they fear that he will “steal the summit”, belittling the importance of not only Latvia, but also the NATO summit as a whole. However, during the day rumors appeared that a visa had already been issued to the Russian president. “The situation is very complicated, and we don’t know how it will all end,” a senior Latvian official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the newspaper.

The Latvian newspaper Diena hinted that the Americans actively opposed the Russian leader's informal visit to Riga. Director of the Transitional Democracies Project, Bruce Jackson, in an interview with Diena, said that Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga is unlikely to be able to refuse Jacques Chirac’s eccentric desire to see the Russian president on his birthday, but she may find herself in an awkward position if an “uninvited guest” will arrive in Riga. According to Jackson, the Riga NATO summit symbolizes the end of the process of creating a united and free Europe, and Vladimir Putin represents the opposite.

The NATO summit in Riga began yesterday with harsh attacks against Russia. Speaking before the opening of the meeting, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Richard Lugar, called on NATO to be prepared to repel “attack and blackmail” using energy as a weapon from countries such as Russia or Iran. According to the senator, “the use of energy as a weapon is already happening.” As an example, he cited the dispute over gas prices between Russia and Ukraine , which allegedly demonstrated "the temptation to use energy to achieve political goals."

Lugar believes that the Alliance countries should develop a counter strategy that includes energy supplies for the victims of the “aggressive blackout.” To practice defensive scenarios, the senator proposed regularly conducting special exercises similar to the Cold War maneuvers “Reforger” (exercises for the rapid transfer of troops from the United States to Europe). Only in the new conditions we should not be talking about military equipment and troops, but about prompt supplies of energy resources to the allies.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy Sergei Karaganov, present at the NATO summit in Riga, noted to Vremya Novostey that the summit meeting in the capital of Latvia reflects the situation within NATO. “The North Atlantic Alliance is faced with a number of problems, including energy, the solution of which should justify the existence of NATO itself.” The political scientist believes that Lugar used anti-Russian rhetoric more out of habit than out of necessity: “This is a knight of the Cold War, and he uses the verbal tools that he is used to.” According to our interlocutor, NATO will not play a serious role in ensuring energy security unless we are talking about protecting the straits, oil and gas pipelines. “Behind NATO's involvement in energy security is the traditional rivalry with the European Union. To block the European Union’s initiatives in the field of protecting energy sources, the United States is trying to use NATO,” says Sergei Karaganov.

The main issue of the summit in Riga was the situation in Afghanistan , where 32 thousand NATO soldiers are trying to fight the intensified Islamists from the radical Taliban movement. This issue is closely linked to the prospect of transformation of the North Atlantic Alliance. At the opening of the summit, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that the Alliance's military forces in Afghanistan are undermanned by 20%, and in such a situation commanders are powerless. He emphasized that the military mission in Afghanistan is the Alliance's first operation outside Europe, which should become the basis for transforming the bloc into a global guarantor of security. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO hopes to transfer Afghanistan to local control in 2008.

Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Arbatov told Vremya Novostey that the problem in Afghanistan has worsened due to the fact that the Americans, after a brilliantly organized invasion in 2001, without solving the socio-economic problems of this country, rushed to Iraq. “They have already spent about $600 billion on the war in Iraq and will spend more. Seeing that the United States is bogged down in Iraq and is practically suffering defeat there, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have become more active and have launched a counter-offensive in Afghanistan,” the scientist notes. Mr. Arbatov believes that NATO troops in Afghanistan find themselves in a situation similar to the situation of Soviet troops in that country after they occupied all the cities and communications. “The Americans do not have enough forces in Afghanistan, and they are trying to shift the conduct of hostilities to their allies. But if the United States leaves Iraq, then NATO allies are unlikely to remain in Afghanistan,” says Mr. Arbatov.

Another important topic of the summit was NATO expansion . Yesterday in Riga, US President George W. Bush announced Washington's readiness to intensify the admission of Georgia to the Alliance. According to him, first in line to join NATO are Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, which have made impressive progress in fulfilling their individual membership plans. Bush stressed that the United States supports the desire for rapprochement with the Alliance of Ukraine and Georgia. According to him, Georgia is successfully moving along the path of democratic reforms and this year entered a new stage of intensive partnership with NATO. Referring to Ukraine, Bush emphasized that the West actively supports the president of this country in his efforts to fight corruption and build a rule of law state. "Once Ukraine has implemented all the necessary reforms, the path to NATO will be open to these people, if they choose," Bush said.

Nevertheless, the US President emphasized the importance of relations with Russia within the Russia-NATO Council, since peace and global security depend on strengthening relations with Moscow. As Mr. Arbatov told VN, in order to solve all these problems, including energy security issues, NATO should raise the issue of admitting Russia to full members of the Alliance, and not develop the topic of Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan joining NATO.

Victor VOLODIN, Danuta DEMBOVSKA, Riga