Russia-EU summit to be held in Nice on Nov. 14

The second round of talks on a new Russia-EU cooperation agreement will take place in late September in Brussels, said Marc Franco, head of the European Commission delegation to Russia. He added that the third round would be held in Moscow.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier on Monday he hoped a new wide-ranging cooperation agreement between Russia and the EU would be finalized before the end of this year.

Meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Japan, Medvedev said: "We have finally started talks on an agreement outlining relations between Russia and the European Union."

The first round of the long-delayed talks on a new deal to replace the 1997 comprehensive partnership agreement took place on July 4 in Brussels. The heads of the delegations declined to say when the talks would be concluded.

Sarkozy said France would do its best to ensure Russia and the EU make substantial progress in cooperation by the next Russia-EU summit.

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