President Klaus chairs EU-Russia summit

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, is chairing an EU-Russia summit in the city of Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East on Thursday and Friday, as part of the Czech Republic’s six-month presidency of the EU. Security, energy and trade are on the agenda but political observers say progress could be slow after Russia's war with Georgia and the gas crisis with Ukraine which severely dented Russian-EU ties. In light of this, the presence of the Czech president, who is known to have good relations with Moscow, is seen as a "positive" factor. The EU is Russia's biggest trading partner, while the 27-member bloc currently imports more than a quarter of its gas from Russia.