The EU and have held their first high-level talks since the recent gas crisis and last year’s war in .

In an effort to ease diplomatic relations, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barosso met President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin, claiming it was vital a repeat of the energy dispute did not happen again.

In January, stopped the flow of gas to Europe for almost two weeks after a row over prices with . In some of the worst disruption to supplies in years, the cut in deliveries left thousands of people in Eastern Europe without heating.

The Commission President also held talks with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. In addition to energy, he is thought to have raised the issue of human rights, after the recent murder of a lawyer and journalist in Moscow.

The war between and over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia was also on the agenda.

Officials say they hope today’s meetings will clear the diplomatic air but are not expecting any major breakthroughs.

euronews