"Ahead of [the] Nice [summit], the issue of the economic crisis has naturally come to the fore. I assume the summit talks will first of all cover this issue," Vladimir Chizhov told a RIA Novosti conference by video link from Brussels.
Russia and the EU are also expected to hold unofficial talks on a pan-European security treaty on November 13-14. The initiative was put forward by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
In light of Medvedev's initiative, the summit could also consider the president's declaration that Russia would deploy missiles in its Kaliningrad Region in response to U.S. missile defense plans in Europe, Chizhov said.
Medvedev said is his state of the nation address last Wednesday that Russia would be forced to deploy short-range Iskander missile systems in the Russian exclave on the Baltic in response to the United States' missile shield plans for Central Europe.
Washington said on Thursday it had provided new proposals to ease Russia's concerns over the planned deployment of 10 U.S. missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, which the United States said were needed to counter possible attacks from "rogue" states like Iran.
"These issues will obviously be discussed in the context of prospects for establishing a new European security system," the Russian envoy said.
Chizhov added that the discrimination against Russian nationals in Latvia and Lithuania could also be discussed at the summit.
He accused the Baltic nations of having double standards on the issue, and said that Russia's concerns on the Baltic nations' attitudes were well-known to the European Union.
Chizhov added that Russia and the EU would also discuss bilateral contacts and the consequences of Georgia's attack on its breakaway republic of South Ossetia.
Relations between Russia and the European Union strained after the August 8 war between Russia and Georgia, which had attacked breakaway South Ossetia. The EU froze talks on a new partnership deal with Russia after Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a second breakaway Georgian region.
