mr president those who know russia will know that what passes for a legal system there does not measure up to the normal criteria of the rule of law
this affects russia's relations with the rest of the world and equally with its own citizens
it follows that when the european union deals with russia it must take into account a variety of non-legal factors notably political interference corruption and occasionally violence
the relationship between russia and the west then is subject to uncertainty not to mention the complete absence of transparency and accountability
where russia's own citizens are concerned they lead lives more affected by arbitrariness and violence than can be reconciled with the european union's commitment to universal human rights
attempts to transform russia have failed so the european union has no alternative but to live with the awkward interface between its own legality and russia's non-legality
