Sarkozy+Merkel sources to EuroFora: European Security deal in Medvedev+Clinton Berlin talks +OSCE?

 - A PanEuropean Security deal could be decided "before the end of 2010" by an OSCE Summit, said to "EuroFora" well informed sources from French President Sarkozy's entourage, after he met in Berlin with Russian President Medvedev.

    Sarkozy, since he was EU Chairman, had initially proposed, in agreement with German Chancellor Merkel, the organization of an OSCE Summit to discuss a PanEuropean Security deal, in exchange of Russian President Medvedev's promise to stop moves to deploy Nuclear Missiles at Kaliningrad, in reaction to US plans for an anti-Nuclear "Shield" in Europe, when they had met at Nice, on November 2008, before the G-20 Washington Summit.     

A first opportunity for the Franco-German leaders to discuss that with new US President Obama was given at NATO's Summit in Strasbourg, April 2009. Shortly afterwards, OSCE Ministerial meeting at Corfu decided to start a preparatory work to explore concrete possibilities in this direction since July 2009.    

Obviously, Berlin' s 9 November 2009 Summit, topically held just after the ratification of EU's Lisbon Treaty which created 2 Top EU jobs to fill, and at the eve of crucial OSCE and other International political meetings on PanEuropean Security issues on December 2009, didn't only serve Symbolic purposes.    

At the same time,  US - Russia Nuclear Disarmament agreement START (signed in 1991) expires at the end of  2009, inciting new US President Obama and Medvedev (who are due to meet in Asia in a few days) to re-negociate a new agreement soon.

  

 
    Symbolically, during all the public part of Berlin's Summit, European Heads of State and Government continuously faced a heavy ...Rain, which obliged them to walk and speak to the People under huge ..Ombrellas, inevitably reminding the Nuclear protection issue...

  Astonishingly, the rain started to stop only when a fake "Wall of Dominos" was pushed down by EU Parliament's President Buzek, EU Commission's Presidents Buzek and Barroso, as well as Lech Walesa and Michail Gorbarchow, saluted by a Fireworks' spectacle at the Brandenbourg Gate, followed by a long diner among Heads of State/Government, hosted by German Chancellor Merkel, at last free to discuss unoficially but topically all "hot" issues...

 

    Medvedev's expert, Sergei Prikhodko, reportedly confirmed to Russian Press Agency "Itar-Tass" that Berlin visit was "in line with" efforts to prepare a "New panEuropean Security Treaty".

    As for Foreign Minister Lavrov, he confirmed Russia’s interest in making a new European Security Treaty legally binding for everyone : - “We will promote our proposal, including within the Russia-NATO Council meetings  due to take place in the beginning of December,” he reportedly said.
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    Even if US President Obama was physically absent during Berlin's Heads of State/Government contacts, (except from a last-minute, surprising Video-message at Brandenbourg gate), USA's State Secretary Hilary Clinton was 1st among all Foreign Politicians guests to arrive in Berlin, for the longer stay of all, starting as early as since Sunday afternoon, (even before EU Parliament's President Buzek).

    - "Security" figured as No 1 among the "issues" "about" which new German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, "talked in detail" with Clinton, as he stressed in a brief Press Conference at the German Foreign Ministry.  But they didn't reveal in public anything about Nuclear Arms and European Security related to East-West and US - Russia matters, focusing, instead, on a few Press Questions only about Iran and Afghanistan.

    However, Clinton also met in Berlin with the OSCE Chairman-in-office, new Greek Prime Minister Georges Papandreou, who currently prepares a crucial OSCE Ministerial Summit at the beginning of December in Athens.
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    Precisely, the December 1 and 2 OSCE Ministerial meeting in Greece was indicated by French President Sarkozy's sources to "EuroFora" as a possible date for decisions on the main issue.

    The move could create "a common space for Security and Cooperation between the US, EU and Russia," according to the French Presideny's sources. (Or, as Medvedev reportedly said : a kind of "Forum" to discuss Security issues, "“both by NATO member states and European countries that are not NATO members”. “Otherwise, non-NATO states will not feel quite comfortable anyway").

    Experienced Diplomatic Observers, pointed out to "EuroFora" that "now seems to be the right Timing, because no NATO Enlargement is planned for the moment", so that Western countries don't suspect any Russian attempt to stop an eventual NATO's extension in the following months, and this simplifies things.

    The issue is of outmost importance and interest for the European and International Policy of the new German Government, revealed to "EuroFora" Merkel's Governing party, CDU/CSU's vice-President in charge of Foreign Policy, experienced long-time Chairman of the Franco-German Group of MPs, Andreas Schockenhoff, in the framework of a larger, exclusive Interview at the Bundestag, the German Parliament, which started to debate the policy of the New Government, a day after Berlin's Summit :
    - "The 2 pilars of German Foreign Policy are European Integration and Trans-Atlantic cooperation", he stressed from the outset.

    - "On Disarmament Policy, we (Germany) are Ready to withdraw all Nuclear items which are still stocked on German soil", Schockenhoff declared.

    - "But not Unilaterally, but within an International Disarmament Agreement, and within the "New Strategic Concept" of NATO", he added.

    - "So : Clear confirmation for Disarmament, but not as Unilateral National  step, but imbedded in NATO's New Strategic Concept, and imbedded in International Disarmament Agreements",  the CDU/CSU Bundestag Spokesman on Foreign Policy resumed.

    Earlier at the Bundestag, as CDU/CSU Foreign Policy speaker (with the longest intervention of all : 23 minutes !), Schockenhoff said that his "CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group strongly supports American President Obama's vision to create, step by step a World free of Nuclear Weapons".  

    - "This fully corresponds to our tradition : Helmut Kohl and Hans Dietrich Genscher had begun in 1982 with the goal to "Create Peace with always Less Weapons".  In his Government's time Europe was largely freed of Medium and Short-range Weapons".

    - "Now we want to continue this Process, and at the same time also dismantle the Nuclear Weapons remaining in Germany, in close concertation with our Allies and in the framework of Disarmament Agreements".   

 - "During this legislative period (2009-2014), ..we will press for Arms' reduction and Disarmament. Because we must prevent.. New Rearmament Dynamics to emerge", he warned.

However, on the OSCE side, the matter is delicate, since "an OSCE Summit needs the agreement of all 56 Members States", and always necessitates very "careful preparations", while it still remains to be seen how the forthcoming Kazahkstan's OSCE Presidency might present officially its wish to host a Summit on 2010, said afterwards to "EuroFora" OSCE's Spokesman, Martin Nesinsky.   

 - "Since Summer 2009, OSCE Ambassadors are regularly working on the "Corfu process", (from the name of the island where the current Greek Presidency's hosted the latest OSCE Top Political meeting), which examines all Security issues which might be covered by a future OSCE agreemennt : Not only Political and Military, but also related to Democracy and Human Rights, Technology, Environment, Health, Eco-social matters, etc. It will depend on Foreign Ministers, meeting on December in Athens, to check the work done, and eventually debate, finalize and decide. But it's hard to guess now what may happen then", OSCE's spokesman added to "EuroFora".

    There has been No OSCE Summit since the last one, held in 1999 at Istanbul, and that's why some Member Countries say that time has come now to hold a new one, while other Member Countries, without denying this fact, say that it would be premature to organize a Summit if something substantial is not ready for Heads of State/Government to debate and decide, Nesinsky concluded.

    To help prepare OSCE Ministers' "muscles" for such a "heavy" diplomatic exploit,  the 2009 Greek OSCE Presidency symbolically prepared the forthcoming December 1 and 2 OSCE Ministerial meeting at the former ...Olympic athletic games' area, which hosts not only performant Media Broadcasting facilities, but also an International Athletics' Museum...

Will 2009 OSCE Foreign Ministers be performant enough to break a diplomatic record, on panEuropean and trans-Atlantic Security ?