MOSCOW, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia hopes for an early start of negotiations on a new partnership agreement with the European Union (EU), Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

    "We hope for the soonest start of negotiations, but we are not dramatizing the delay," Lavrov told a press conference after talks with top EU officials, the Interfax news agency reported.

    "The delay is obviously artificial," he added.

    The EU has so far failed to start negotiations on the new, more ambitious cooperation agreement with Russia because of Poland's veto. The negotiation mandate requires unanimous approval of all EU member countries. The current decade-old deal expires in October this year.

    Warsaw demanded Moscow lift its year-long ban on Polish meat imports, saying that the ban is politically motivated. Russia maintains that the embargo has been imposed over food safety worries.

    Russia supports consultations between veterinary experts, Lavrov said, adding consultations were continuing.

    German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the current EU presidency, said, "All obstacles to the negotiations will soon be removed."

    "We have discussed ways to remove these obstacles," he said.