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Putin (r) and Barroso (l) shake hands at Val Duchesse on Thursday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

Congeniality dinner opens EU-Russia summit

Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his EU hosts avoided the prickly subjects - human rights, energy - at dinner in a stately home in Brussels on Thursday (20 December).

The event, hosted by EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso, took place in the Val Duchesse estate on the outskirts of the EU capital, prior to official talks in the Council building on Friday morning.

An EU source said the VIPs talked about the Arab Spring, Iran, the M...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

Putin (r) and Barroso (l) shake hands at Val Duchesse on Thursday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

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