EU and Russia launched a full day of talks on Tuesday dominated by a far-ranging dispute over the Syria crisis and Brussels' decision to lift its arms embargo on President Bashar al-Assad's foes. EU dignitaries said Russia's human rights record would also come under the microscope at meetings in the industrial Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to build on his rapport with the visiting duo of European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso when he hosted a dinner late Monday ahead of the full day of talks. He opened Tuesday's session without mentioning Syria and instead underlined the booming trade between the two sides. Moscow is also hoping to eventually secure visa-free travel to Europe and win a release for its natural gas giant Gazprom from new rules that forbid it from owning pipelines and other facilities in EU states. "It is obvious that our energy dialogue may only advance successfully if we take our mutual interests into account," Putin told his EU partners at the start of Tuesday's session. "Another problem requiring our full attention is the preparation of a new framework Russia-EU agreement," he added in reference to talks that have dragged on for years. "Right now, both sides are interested in finishing this job as soon as possible." The framework agreement -- the basis of Russian-EU cooperation in all areas of trade -- has not been updated since the two sides first established relations after the Soviet Union's collapse.
