US pledges 'new tone' in relations with EU, Russia[fr][de] 

In a perfectly harmonious chorus, European leaders stressed Russia does not pose any military threat to Europe or NATO. But mutual trust between Moscow and Brussels is "urgently" needed, especially after the natural gas supply crisis earlier this year, said French President Nicholas Sarkozy. 

On the same subject, US Vice President Joe Biden said it is time to "reset" ties with Russia, which have become strained over NATO's eastward enlargement and Washington's plan to deploy a missile defence shield in Europe. 

Diplomacy and dialogue 

"I come to Europe on behalf of a new administration determined to set a new tone not only in Washington, but in America's relations around the world," Biden said in a highly anticipated speech which was expected to define the course of the new Obama administration. 

Diplomacy will return to the forefront of US foreign policy, the vice president pledged. But he made clear that the States' willingness to engage in dialogue would come along with the expectation that America's partners will play a greater role on the international scene. 

"America will do more, but America will ask for more from our partners," Biden pointed out. Afghanistan and Guantanamo will be the two key issues where Europe could show its commitment, according to Biden. 

Although the vice president did not specifically ask European leaders to deploy troops in Afghanistan, participants in the Munich conference were aware that calls for stronger commitment needed to be interpreted in that light, as the new US president has made Afghanistan his top foreign policy priority. 

The fate of Guantanamo detainees 

Regarding Guantanamo, the conference marked the first time that a member of the new administration officially announced that America will ask other countries to take in inmates from the prison camp in Cuba, the closure of which Obama had ordered on his first day in office. "We need your help," Biden said, in a statement which appeared to be directed at German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

EU foreign ministers discussed the issue at their meeting in January, but failed to go beyond mere shows of support (see EurActiv 13/01/09). 

Heal rift with Russia 

Biden also reached out to Moscow, saying "it is time to press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and should be working together". One issue at hand was America's efforts to set up anti-missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic aimed at defending against a potential Iranian threat. 

Biden said that the US would "continue to develop missile defence but pledged to closely consult" with the Russians on the issue. 

Missile defence 

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov described the message as a "very positive" signal, Reuters reported. He said Russia is willing to discuss the option of cooperating on the issue of an antiimissile defence system. 

"If we analyse the threat together and find out that there is a threat, we will tackle the problem together," Ivanov stated. 

He suggested the radar systems in the south of Russia could also be used for this purpose. However, Ivanov warned the US that tension would increase if more bases were set in Russia's direct neighbourhood. 

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra reiterated their support for locating the US missile defence system in their countries. This would be an important element for European defense and a preventive step, Tusk said. 

Pan-European security pact 

Biden also echoed calls from EU leaders such as France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel, who also spoke in Munich, to include Russia in a wider European security architecture. 

Picking up on an old vision formulated by former French President Charles de Gaulle, who associated a "Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals" with a common European peace order, Sarkozy laid out the goal of reinforcing the international security architecture "from Vancouver to Vladivostok" by explicitly engaging Russia. He said the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) would be a suitable framework for this. "After the gas crisis and the crisis in Georgia, new confidence must be established" between the EU and Russia, the French president said. 

Limits of US rapprochement towards Moscow 

Notwithstanding America's new approach to integrate rather than isolate Russia, Biden made clear that both sides will "not agree on everything". The US will not at any point follow the Russian example of recognising the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent republics, he said. 

Biden also rejected the notion of a Russian sphere of influence, saying Obama would continue to urge NATO to seek "deeper cooperation with like-minded countries". 

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, lauded the "very constructive" approach taken by the whole US delegation present in Munich. "It is very important that we begin to talk with the same melody, on the same wavelength," he told AFP. 

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Duma's international affairs committee, said in an interview that he welcomed Biden's comments about "a need to listen to partners," as opposed to Bush's approach "that everything is already pre-decided, everything is clear and should be done the way the American administration thinks about it". 

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer again called for a stronger European commitment in Afghanistan. He stressed that the new US administration was not just waiting for good advice but expected Europe to take on new assignments.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the conference that "without full confidence, more openness towards Russia is impossible".

US Vice President Joe Biden concluded that "America needs the world just as the world needs America".