MOSCOW, May 16: Reports of a crisis in Russia-EU relations are exaggerated, the Kremlin’s representative to the European Union said on Wednesday ahead of a summit with the European Union.

“These are serious challenges, both for us and for the EU, but to say that there is a crisis is a great exaggeration,” the official, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, told journalists here.

He said Russia had major concerns, including a trade row with Poland, a dispute with Estonia over a Soviet-era war memorial and worries about a United States plan to deploy anti-missile weapons in central Europe.

However, “such problems have always been raised during EU-Russia summits, but have never jeopardized a summit as a whole,” he said.

“The problems that arise once in a while in relations between Russia and the EU should not be considered a sign of crisis, but as a perfectly natural partnership and competition.”—AFP