This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7475103.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| EU-Russia summit to 'shift tone' | |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Russian and EU leaders have met in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk - the first such summit since Dmitry Medvedev became Russian president. | |
| The two-day summit is being held to launch negotiations on a new partnership and co-operation agreement. | |
| EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said he hoped the summit would mark a "change of tone" in relations. | |
| However, a fresh row with Finland threatened to overshadow any attempts to improve ties. | |
| Mr Solana told the AFP news agency that the summit would mark the beginning of the EU's relationship with Mr Medvedev. | |
| "I don't think there will be a profound change - a change of substance - but it's true that there will be a different tone," he said. | |
| Energy focus | |
| Russia's ambassador to Brussels, Vladimir Chizhov, spoke of "opening a new chapter in the relationship between Russia and the EU". | |
| The host city is at the heart of Russia's oil boom and more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Brussels. | |
| Energy supplies are a key issue, with the EU getting about a quarter of its natural gas from Russia. | Energy supplies are a key issue, with the EU getting about a quarter of its natural gas from Russia. |
| Russia is the EU's third biggest trading partner - half of Russian exports go to the 27-nation bloc. | Russia is the EU's third biggest trading partner - half of Russian exports go to the 27-nation bloc. |
| Vladimir Putin, Mr Medvedev's predecessor in the Kremlin, and now Russia's prime minister, is not expected to attend the summit. | Vladimir Putin, Mr Medvedev's predecessor in the Kremlin, and now Russia's prime minister, is not expected to attend the summit. |
| The EU delegation is headed by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. Fuel woes overshadow talks | |
| The European Commission says it wants the new partnership agreement to establish "a level playing field for energy relations". | |
| Russia's previous gas rows with its former Soviet neighbours - especially Ukraine - have made Europe nervous, the BBC's James Rodgers reports from Moscow. | Russia's previous gas rows with its former Soviet neighbours - especially Ukraine - have made Europe nervous, the BBC's James Rodgers reports from Moscow. |
| According to the commission, the summit talks will also cover financial market stability, the rise of sovereign wealth funds, climate change, energy security and the current food crisis. | According to the commission, the summit talks will also cover financial market stability, the rise of sovereign wealth funds, climate change, energy security and the current food crisis. |
| Cloud overhead | |
| Previous talks were delayed for 18 months because of the vetoes imposed by Eastern European members of the EU bloc. | |
| The latest country to overshadow talks is Finland - a major Russian trading partner - which announced on Thursday that it was considering retaliation for Russian moves to increase export duties on raw timber. | |
| The country said Russia's measures - which it says are designed to bolster the country's paper-processing industry - would cost up to 16,000 jobs in Finland. | |
| Finland's prime minister is reported to have written to Mr Barroso, saying that his country expected the matter of wood duties to be at the top of the summit's agenda. |