NICE, FRANCE // Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, defended his decision to reopen talks with Russia amid criticisms this would legitimise Moscow's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the breakaway states, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Russia's president, Dmitriy Medvedev, after an EU-Russia summit yesterday in Nice, Mr Sarkozy also dismissed critics who said he should have been tougher on Moscow during the August conflict.
He said he had gone to Moscow in August when Russian troops were only 40km from the Georgian capital, Tbilsi, and intent apparently on taking the city.
"I remember certain heads of state calling me and saying I should not go. We have seen the fallout of not sitting down and talking," he said.
"Europe has to roll up its sleeves if it wants to play a role in the world. You cannot yell at each other across oceans. It is not weak to talk."
He did not deny there were continuing problems in Georgia, notably over Russia's insistence on recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
After the invasion of Georgia the EU protested by suspending discussions with Moscow for a new, wide-ranging bilateral agreement. The summit signals the reopening of those talks, to the anger of the Georgians who regard it as a betrayal by the EU.
Before the Nice summit, EU officials said that Mr Sarkozy and Mr Medvedev would spend most of their time discussing the financial crisis but, instead, Georgia dominated the agenda.
EU officials thought this was because Mr Sarkozy had become increasingly annoyed that he was being portrayed as weak and unprincipled.
Mr Sarkozy said Russia had met "most" of its obligations in Georgia described in the agreement he brokered on Aug 12 in Moscow. He said Russia had been "very compliant" but, he said, Europe could not accept that South Ossetia and Abkhazia should be fully fledged independent countries.
Again and again he returned to the theme that he had shown vision and moral courage by travelling to Moscow in August. It was foolish, he continued, to argue that meeting the Russians now showed the EU was weak. "I opt for dialogue," he said. "It makes no sense not to talk. How can you solve problems if you do not talk?"
Mr Medvedev was restrained and terse in comparison. He said Russia would respect Georgia's "territorial integrity" but that its recognition of the two breakaway states was final and "irrevocable".
Mr Sarkozy also said the EU understood Moscow's concerns about US plans to establish "anti-missile" systems in Poland and in the Czech Republic, but that Russia's threats to station its own missiles on the Polish and Lithuanian borders was a dangerous step. Washington insists that its missile shield is meant to prevent attacks by "rogue states" - such as Iran.
Mr Sarkozy asked for a suspension in missile deployments until after a security summit next year that would include Russia, the United States and the EU.
Energy also figured in Nice. The EU's dependence on Russian oil, gas and coal has long worried European governments and on the eve of the summit the EU unveiled a multi-trillion dollar plan designed to diversify energy supplies - and prevent Russian blackmail. The EU estimates that by 2030 Europe will be importing 84 per cent of its gas needs, up from 61 per cent at present.
About 40 per cent of EU gas imports and 25 per cent of oil imports are from Russia.
The EU plans to protect the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, currently dependent on Russia for energy supplies, by connecting them to the European grid and constructing "a southern gas corridor" to carry gas from the Caspian basin to Europe, bypassing Russia and Iran.
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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
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Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
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The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
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Dhadak
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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