Nice, France - If the United States and Russia cannot solve the row over their respective plans to site missiles in Europe and agree a new security treaty, Europe should do it for them.
That, at least, was the message French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave on Friday in his capacity as current holder of the European Union's rotating presidency.
"There should be no deployment in any enclave until we have discussed the new geo-political terms for pan-European security ... until then, please let's not talk about the deployment of missile shields, which don't bring security and which complicate things," Sarkozy said in a double-barrelled blast at Russia and the US.