St. Petersburg, May 31: The first summit between Russia and the European Union since the war in Iraq opened today in St. Petersburg. The summit, attended by 14 of the 15 current EU leaders and hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also marked by the presence of leaders from 10 new EU membership hopefuls from central and eastern Europe.
"We are glad to see everyone, but I would especially like to thank the Prime Minister of Luxemburg," Putin said in opening remarks.
"If you remember, it was his idea to meet like this," Putin said in reference to the 10 new EU member states who were attending talks held in the Kremlin chief's native city amid its tercentenary anniversary celebrations.

"It was an unusual idea to meet in this expanded form," said Putin.

The meeting was taking place in the grand Konstantinovsky Palace, once a tsarist mansion, which the Russian government reconstructed at great expense so that Putin can stage summits in Saint Petersburg, his native city.

"If you remember, this place was, basically, a dump," Putin said of the palace. "Even the roof once caved in."
Putin then appeared to surprise his guests by showing a brief film -- complete with space age music -- on the reconstruction of the palace.
Bureau Report