(MAFRA) - Business leaders voiced concern on Friday at an EU-Russia summit in Portugal that political disputes between Brussels and Moscow could harm booming business ties.

"We all see a very positive trend in economic relations between Russia and the European Union... but if you look at the politics it's a lot worse," Anatoly Chubais, CEO of Russia's electricity monopoly, told reporters.

"Today, we urged EU and Russian leaders to resolve the questions of a new partnership agreement and Russia's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for the sake of business," Chubais said.

Chubais and other business chiefs met summit host Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the start of the summit in Mafra, Portugal.

Formal negotiations on a new EU-Russia partnership accord, including on energy ties, have been stalled by Poland in retaliation against Russia's decision to ban imports of meat from Poland in 2005.

Chubais also sounded a sceptical note about assurances from Russian officials that negotiations on Moscow's entry into the WTO will be completed by the end of this year.

"It's like Groundhog Day, we've heard the talk so many times," he said.

He emphasised it was important to protect the rights for Russian businesses, saying that the levels of Russian investments in the European Union were now almost as high as those made by EU companies in Russia.

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