EU-Russia talks to resume

Speaking after the EU-Russia summit held in Nice, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was able to convince Russia to resume talks on December 2 on a strategic treaty, which was frozen in August as a protest to Russia's invasion of Georgia.

The two leaders agreed that the talks should be preceded by expert meetings, however both leaders have not confirmed a date when they'll meet, saying only that negotiations will continue.

The French president also urged both Russia and the US to hold off their missile plans until the next meeting voicing his concern about the Kremlin's threat to deploy missiles near Poland in response to US plans to place elements of the missile defense system in both Poland and the Czech Republic.

"I indicated to President Medvedev how concerned we were about this declaration and how there should be no deployment in any enclave until we have discussed new geopolitical conditions for pan-European security," Sarkozy told journalists. Sarkozy proposed a meeting in mid-2009 where further talks can take place on European security.

Medvedev said that his reaction to deploying missiles in Kaliningrad were a reaction to US missile shield plans, which Russia sees as a threat to its own security.

Source: Reuters