On Wednesday, December 6, Poland gave its agreement for the European Union to start talks with Russia regarding energy cooperation.

The talks will take place in Moscow on Friday, December 8.

The meeting will be attended by Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, as well as the representatives of Austria, Finland and Germany.

At the same time Warsaw has maintained its veto on negotiations on renewing the EU-Russia partnership agreement.

Still, as one EU diplomat was quoted by the Polish News Bureau as saying, Poland’s consent for the talks between Brussels and Moscow is a “positive signal” and a sign of “a softer approach to the issue”.

In the words of another Brussels representative, while the trade ban is an urgent problem, the energy issue will be tackled over the next few years.

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