EU newcomer Poland vetoed talks on a new trade and energy cooperation pact between Moscow and Brussels to replace the current deal, which expires in late 2007, over a Russian ban on meat and other agricultural imports from Poland. Moscow cited health concerns, but Warsaw said the move was political.
An official European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said European authorities had received relevant signals from Poland following recent talks between commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
Mikhail Kamynin, an official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said it would be a step in the right direction if Poland lifted its veto on the partnership.
"We are now waiting for official confirmation on the issue," Kamynin said.
Relations between Russia and Poland, a former Communist Bloc country that joined the EU in May 2004, have deteriorated dramatically over the past few years.
A string of recent diplomatic spats has increased mutual distrust between the two neighbors, prompting many politicians in Warsaw to conclude that the Kremlin is using the embargo on Polish imports as a political weapon.
