04/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Monday 3 March, the president-in-office of the European, Council, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, spoke on the phone with Dmitri Medvedev who has just been elected the new president of the Russian Federation (EUROPE 9614). During their conversation, Mr Medvedev expressed his wish to promote more dialogue with the EU, according to a press release from the Slovenian EU Council Presidency. Both men stressed how important it was to have a “stable legal framework” for EU-Russia relations. In this context, Mr Jansa undertook to reach an agreement within the EU “at the earliest possible opportunity” in order to allow talks on a new partnership agreement to be initiated. Messrs Jansa and Medvedev also said that the fact that the EU Presidency is held, for the very first time, by a “Slavic member state” constitutes an “excellent opportunity” for strengthening EU-Russia relations. The next EU-Russia summit will be held on 26-27 June in Siberia. (H.B.)