strained relations, for instance the Russian Duma's ratification of the Kyoto Treaty on the environment, and Russian flexibility after EU enlargement. But despite this, the EU was not prepared to yield. "All delegations insisted on the unity of the package. No separate agreements to be contemplated. It has to be viewed as a single entity," Bot said. Bot said the sides were furthest apart on the external security space, which includes Russian activities in various flashpoints like separatist Chechnya. Russia wants the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, where decisions are taken by unanimity, to have the lead role in scrutinising its record on human rights in this area, while the EU argues its status as Russia's neighbour should give it more of a role. EU-Russian ties have been strained recently, particularly by the war in Chechnya and by Moscow's legal actions against oil giant YUKOS and its former head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, currently awaiting trial for fraud and tax evasion. At an EU-Russia summit during the Italian Presidency of the EU last November, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi surprised journalists by giving a vigorous endorsement to Putin's handling of both issues.
