The EU-Russia summit on Thursday (25 May) is set to see a friendly new visa deal, but EU mistrust of Russia's energy muscle and mounting tension between Washington and Moscow will give a dark edge to the talks.
Under the visa deal, EU and Russian citizens will be able to visit each other for €35 a trip from 2007 onward.
The half-day meeting in Sochi, on the Black Sea, will also open negotiations on a post-2007 "Strategic Partnership Treaty" between the two powers and see debates...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.