BRUSSELS - Chechen rebel Aslan Maskhadov's death presents the EU with a diplomatic dilemma, torn between voicing concern at the Kremlin's way of dealing with Chechnya while not endangering strategic ties with Moscow.
The embarrassment was evident in the reluctance, or even refusal, of European Union leaders and governments to react to Maskhadov's death at the hands of Russian forces.
The European Commission and the EU's Luxembourg presidency reiterated the bloc's standard position in favour of a political solution to the Chechen conflict, respecting Russia's territorial integrity.
They also recalled the need for human rights to be respected in the north Caucasus. But beyond that there was not much of substance to be heard the day after Maskhadov's death was announced in Moscow.
Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld had been among the most blunt on Tuesday, saying the killing was "a political mistake," given that Maskhadov was "the only person with whom it was possible to seek an accord in the Caucasus."
But in Brussels EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Analysts said the reason for reticence to comment was clear.
"For Europeans, Chechnya must not paralyze the overall relationship with Russia," said Thomas Gomart of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) in Paris.
Having said that, he added that there are "different sensibilities" among the EU's 25 member states on Russia.
Russia and Germany for example want to maintain "close relations on a strategic basis" with Russia, while the many ex-communist countries which joined the EU last year are more critical of their former overlords in Moscow.
Paris and Berlin fear that a new isolation of Russia would be bad for the whole international community.
French President Jacques Chirac said last month that Russia-EU ties are "a crucial element in world stability," adding that "we need a certain vision of this relationship. We should not confuse the fundamentals with side issues."
Neither does Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hide his close relations with President Vladimir Putin, who is due to dine in Paris later this month with Chirac, the German leader and Spain's prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
That said, the Europeans are not unconcerned about Chechnya.
The subject "comes up very frequently" in discussions between European leaders and Putin, even if the Russian president is prone to display his irritation when pressed on the issue.
"The Europeans have a clear view on the unacceptability of the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Russian security forces in Chechnya," said Michael Emerson of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).
"But at the same time, it is very difficult indeed for the Europeans to know what to do. In particular, they are hoping somehow (to see) Russia moving to a position of political negotiation with the Chechens. Of course the assassination of Maskhadov is not going to help that," he added.
On the contrary, the Chechen leader's killing "will most probably" only intensify the conflict between Russia and the separatist rebels, said Gomart.
Emerson echoes this -- and suggests it may be exactly what Moscow wanted. "One interpretation is that Maskhadov was killed because he was presenting an irritating scenario of conceivable negotiations with Moscow," he said.

03/09/2005 18:22 GMT