Utrikespolitiska Föreningen Stockholm

Artiklar • december 21, 2009

Building democracy is a process

On the first day of snow in December, UF Stockholm was visited by the Russian Ambassador to Sweden, Mr. Igor Neverov. For those who missed out on his lecture, here is a short summary. Despite the snow storm, an audience of UF members, journalists and many others had made it to Stockholm University to listen to the recently appointed ambassador on the topic “The Future of EU-Russia Relations”. Central to the discussions was the recent EU-Russia summit in Stockholm on November 18th.

Ambassador Neverov expressed great satisfaction with the Swedish EU-presidency and Sweden hosting the 24th summit between EU and Russia. Even though relations between the two are “complex and complicated”, as it has many dimensions, Neverov was optimistic. Progress has been made on many issues and the recent summit clearly shows positive developments. An example is the Partnership for Modernization which includes long term projects for technology transfer, harmonization of business legislation and visa-free travel between EU and Russia. The partnership also underlines EU support for Russia’s accession to the WTO. Membership of the WTO is crucial for Russia after a long way of adapting to WTO norms.

Other topics from the EU-Russia summit in Stockholm included climate change, nuclear disarmament, and Afghanistan/Pakistan, the latter issue “creating much headache” according to Neverov. On the topic of disarmament, the ambassador pointed out the problem of not having another START-agreement to replace START -1 that expired on December 5. START-1 is a bilateral treaty on arms control between the US and Russia.

Dmitrij Medvedev, José Manuel Barroso and Fredrik Reinfeldt from the November summit in Stockholm

With EU having ratified the Lisbon Treaty Neverov hoped that EU-Russian relations will benefit from a better adaptation of political dialogue. However, he pointed out that bilateral relations will not be neglected – this is a large part of his work here in Stockholm. The ambassador underlined that he is aware of increasing Swedish interest in Russia with companies such as Ericsson, Volvo and Oriflame operating in the eastern market. He also mentioned that one in five Swedes have deposits in Russia.

Talking about economy and finances led to the economic crisis and its consequences. Russia, just as any country integrated in the world economy, has been affected by the crisis said Neverov. The ambassador pointed out that Russia is perceived as a logical partner in the financial world today.

Before taking questions, Neverov finished his speech with a fun story about former leader Brezhnev when he was Secretary General of the Communist Party. At one point Brezhnev held a speech to the assembly, lasting for one hour. He received a long applause but later asked his speech-writer: “Wasn’t it supposed to be only 15 minutes long? How could I talk for one hour?” The response: “Yes, it was 15 minutes long, but I gave you four copies of the speech!” By sharing this story with us, ambassador Neverov finished his speech and was ready to take questions.

In the Q&A session Neverov was faced with frequent points of critique towards Russia. Some of the questions concerned Nord Stream and the controversy pipe line, Georgia crisis of 2008, as well as allegations of human rights violations and freedom of the press.

Nord Stream gas pipe

The ambassador is happy with the Swedish decision to go forward with the gas line, which he says will increase energy security to Sweden and Europe, as well as create jobs in Sweden.

Freedom of the press and alleged crimes against journalists in Russia

The ambassador pointed out that Russia does have free press – a proof of this is that criticism against the government is actually very frequent in Russian press – often it is even more critical than Swedish press. Crimes and abuse on journalists gives a bad image of Russia but we must remember that the problem is not exclusive to his country, Neverov pointed out.

Russia’s development after Yeltsin?

Before Putin took office, Russia was threatened by disintegration. To overcome this threat, some decisive political decisions were needed, decisions that not everybody liked, but which were necessary, said Neverov. When that threat was defeated, as a result of strong political leadership of Putin, Russia could start focusing on its democratic issues. Today, Russia struggles to overcome a legacy of 60-70 years. Building democracy is a process – it took the US about 200 years and Russia has only had ten years. We must also remember that the democratic system is an ideal, he pointed out.

Russia-Georgia conflict in 2008

An issue which raised some eyebrows among listeners was the Georgia crisis in 2008, which caused a dip in relations between Russia and the EU. Neverov was very clear on the topic. First, the war was much a war of misinformation. An example is that Georgian rockets fired into Russia was portrayed in Western media as Russian rockets fired into Georgia, clearly in Georgia’s favor. Not until now, a year later, facts are getting clear and facts are on our side, Neverov said. He continued to explain that Abchazia and South Ossetia are, as far as Russia is concerned, to be viewed as independent states today. The message was sharp: It was the Georgian government that started the war, which proves that president Saakashvili is not a legitimate partner.

The lecture came to an end but discussions will continue in other venues. Are you interested in Russian politics, remember to check out the UF Stockholm website for an upcoming study visit to the Russian embassy!

Text: Sara Norrevik

Please note that this article is only a sum up of the lecture and it does not express views of UF Stockholm. UF Stockholm is a politically and religiously non-affiliated association.

Ambassador Neverov talking with UF Stockholm members after the lecture

Upplagt av: ylva kronheffer