Thaw in the east
Russia's appears to be taking steps recently towards increasing cooperation with regard to its relations with Poland. Last week, Moscow offered to carry out joint meat-safety inspections with the European Union as part of an initial move that could lift its ban on Polish meat. At the same time, Russian crude oil pipeline monopoly Transneft suggested that it may be willing to restore the flow of crude oil to the Lithuanian Mazeikiu refinery, purchased by Poland's PKN Orlen last year.
Russia's Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control Service (Rosselkhoznadzor) said in a statement that a joint inspection by experts from Moscow and Brussels would allow an objective decision to be made on the methods Poland uses to check its meat. "Rosselkhoznadzor [proposes] checking jointly with EU experts to see how the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate of Poland is eliminating defects discovered during a joint Russian-Polish inspection in February," said the agency.
However, after its recent positive report to the EC, the Commission said it saw no need for any further visits by experts to Polish meat-production facilities.
"We believe we can provide additional information and clarification to address their concerns," Commission spokesperson Philip Tod told a news briefing, suggesting further inspections could be avoided.
He added that the Commission would send Russia more information early this week to try to remove any remaining questions. EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev, this week to discuss the dispute.
As for the Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline, Transneft shut it down last July, claiming repairs were necessary. PKN Orlen purchased Mazeikiu for $2.3 (zł.6.55) billion in December. The cutoff took place after PKN Orlen purchased the refinery from Russian oil giant Yukos and the Lithuanian government, beating out some Russian firms. Lithuania called the shutdown politically motivated and has threatened to block talks on an EU-Russian cooperation pact scheduled for May unless the flow of oil resumes.
"There are signals from Transneft (suggesting the possibility) of renewing supplies," stated a source with access to Reuters. The source added that Transneft was considering mending the line to Mazeikiu despite their earlier concerns that repairs would be too costly. A Russian technical-standards watchdog said Transneft was researching the feasibility of fixing the pipeline and that it was unlikely that oil would return soon. Officials at Transneft were not available for comment. (Reuters)
