(MOSCOW) - Guenter Verheugen, number two in the European Commission, said on Saturday that new EU-Russia partnership talks would get the green light in time for a June summit, despite opposition from Lithuania.

"I'm quite optimistic that the European Commission will have a mandate to negotiate it before the next summit meeting," Verheugen, who is also European commissioner for industry, said in Moscow. He was speaking after talks with Russia's industry and trade minister, Viktor Khristenko.

The summit is to take place in Siberia on June 26-27, when new President Dmitry Medvedev will represent Russia for the first time.

Verheugen told journalists that a veto by EU-member Lithuania on new "Partnership and Cooperation Agreement" talks would be lifted.

"My forecast here is that we'll find a solution with Lithuania very soon. It will be in the interest of Lithuania not to be seen as a troublemaker," he said.

Lithuania, a former member of the Soviet Union which became an EU member in 2004, says the veto will be lifted if additional issues are addressed in the negotiations. They include Russia's cooperation on energy supplies and resolution of territorial conflicts in ex-Soviet Georgia and Moldova.

That deal will take effect provided all 27 EU members approve it at a meeting on May 26.

Verheugen said he and Khristenko agreed during a visit to far eastern Russia "that political cooperation must catch up. We need to solve outstanding problems."

These include Russia's continued failure to clinch final entry into the World Trade Organisation, something that is "a question of strong political will on both sides, but particularly on the Russian side to remove the remaining obstacles," Verheugen said.

Verheugen and Khristenko visited Komsomolsk on Amur, where the Sukhoi aircraft factory is producing the new Russian Superjet 100 in partnership with major EU companies.

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