BRUSSELS, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Poland on Monday vetoed the start of talks between the European Union and Russia on a new agreement that covers energy, trade and human rights.
"We would like EU member states to show solidarity with Poland regarding Russia," Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Sunday ahead of the foreign minister-level talks in Brussels.
Poland wants Russia to ratify a treaty on trade in energy products and lift a ban on Polish food imports, the BBC reported. The Energy Charter, which Russia has signed but not ratified, would allow foreign companies to invest in Russia's energy sector.
The veto means talks on the agreement cannot be launched when the EU meets Russia on Nov. 24.
Russia supplies some 25 percent of the EU's oil and gas needs, a portion expected to increase.
Much of Europe's worries over Russia's supplies came after state-controlled Gazprom temporarily cut off Ukraine gas supplies in January over a pricing dispute. That move led to reduced flow to Europe.
