At the summit held in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Presidents Medvedev and Van Rompuy signed a joint declaration on the modernization partnership, which is supposed to give Russia easier access to Western know-how and technology while committing the country to more democratic reforms and fighting corruption.

 The EU leader cautioned that the program needed political will from Moscow to succeed. “For the partnership to become successful, the Russian modernization needs to become a reality and it needs to follow certain patterns to avoid protectionism,” he said,

 Mr Medvedev took the opportunity to push for progress on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation. Negotiations for Russian accession have been ongoing for 16 years, and it remains the only G20 country outside the grouping. The customs union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus which came into effect earlier this year has threatened to further stall progress, although the USA has indicated that it is willing to push Russia’s application through.

 The summit failed to yield progress on visa-free travel. EU officials dashed Kremlin hopes that a roadmap toward visa-free travel could be forged soon. In a surprising move, Moscow submitted its own framework convention for future visa-free travel between Russia and the EU-dominated Schengen zone. Russia is keen to attract skilled workers for key modernisation projects such as the new Skolkovo business park, under construction near Moscow.

Statement – EU Press release.