Phased talks mooted in EU-Russia trade dispute
(MAINZ) - Germany's agriculture minister proposed Sunday phased face-to-face talks to try and end a bitter trade dispute that has badly disrupted EU-Russia relations.
"Poland already agrees with a phased solution," Horst Seehofer said at the start of an informal meeting of 26 European agriculture ministers in the German city of Mainz.
He said a possible first phase would include talks on livestock, with a second phase addressing meat imports.
The idea would be discussed further with Andrzej Lepper, Polish deputy prime minister in charge of agriculture, Seehofer said, adding that face-to-face discussions on the issue could yield results.
Germany currently holds the European Union presidency.
Moscow imposed the import ban at the end of 2005, alleging breaches of food certification rules in Poland.
EU member Poland has warned that it will maintain a veto on talks over a new EU-Russia accord unless all 27 members of the bloc form a united front on the issue of energy security and Moscow's ban on imports of Polish meat.
The embargo was on the agenda of last week's EU-Russia summit, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel was unable to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift the ban.
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