Shuttling from Moscow to Tbilisi

The daily paper Les Echos analyses the decisive role the European Union could play regarding the conflict in the Caucasus – despite the differing positions of member states: "President Sarkozy's shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Tbilisi is highly risky. President Bush's weakness at the sad conclusion of his mandate puts the European Union in the front row when it comes to replacing weapons with diplomacy in Georgia. ... The EU 27 hold all the aces when it comes to getting the Kremlin's ear. Especially in the economic sense. ... There is still time before Moscow renounces international investors, of whom the Europeans are the upper echelon. ... Ultimately, Russia wants to bring an end to its years of sitting on the fence, and enter the World Trade Organization. ... But the question remains as to whether the Europeans will play their aces, which assumes they will speak with one voice. And there is nothing less certain than that."

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