Poland, which had until recently blocked talks on a new Partnership and Cooperation deal over Moscow's embargo on Polish meat, said on Thursday it was ready to lift its objections to negotiations.
"Today movement on the Polish track is, I would say, positive, and we hope that this sentiment will be translated into the Polish government's practical decision not to continue its veto on the start of negotiations with Russia, and to give the green light to the EU's mandate for these talks," Sergei Ryabkov, in charge of European cooperation at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said.
However, he said some other EU member states have not yet expressed clear-cut support for granting the European Commission a mandate for new Russia-EU partnership talks.
Russia is hoping for a simplified document, without binding obligations relating to its energy exports to the EU.
A number of EU countries, including Poland and Lithuania, have insisted on including an energy section in the new pact. The idea is supported by EU nations that question the reliability of Russian energy supplies, in particular natural gas.
Fears over Russian gas supplies, which account for over a quarter of European consumption, have been a major factor in EU energy policy since Russia's dispute with Ukraine at the start of 2006, when Gazprom turned the taps off to the country, resulting in shortfalls to the EU.
