Russia hopes to conclude a new cooperation agreement with the European Union in two or three years, a deputy foreign minister said Thursday.
“It is a wide-ranging document affecting all spheres of relations between Russia and the EU,” Alexander Grushko said.
The agreement would replace the 1997 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was extended for a year when it expired in December 2007. Talks on a new deal have been repeatedly delayed, initially by Poland and Lithuania and most recently over Russia”s August conflict with Georgia over South Ossetia.
A decision to resume the negotiations was made at the Russia-EU summit in Nice on November 14, despite objections from Lithuania.
Moscow earlier said that some EU members had tried to use the treaty issue to pressurize Russia.
Russia supplies a considerable portion of Europe”s energy needs, making many countries uneasy about dependence on Kremlin-controlled supplies. Russia, in turn, has been hard hit by the global credit crunch and falling oil prices, and needs reliable buyers for its natural gas.
