Poland will lift block on Russia`s OECD membership talks

Poland will drop its opposition to Moscow`s bid to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in a drive to improve ties with Russia, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Tuesday.

"I informed the Russian side that Poland abandoned its block on these talks," imposed because of long-standing political grievances, Tusk told reporters.

"The goal of this step is to have an impact on the improvement of Polish-Russian relations," said Tusk, who has pledged to mend fences with Poland`s eastern and western neighbours alike since winning office last month.

Tusk`s liberal Civic Platform defeated the conservative Law and Justice party in a snap election on October 21.

Relations between Warsaw and Moscow have been at their lowest ebb since Poland broke free from the communist bloc in 1989, notably because the Kremlin was riled by strong Polish support for the pro-Western "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in 2004.

The 30-member OECD, which tries to coordinate policies among industrialised countries, has acknowledged that it must adapt to a changing global economy, and in May invited Russia, Estonia, Chile, Israel and Slovenia to begin membership talks.

Tusk`s predecessor as premier, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, had consistently kept up Poland`s opposition to Russia`s OECD membership moves because of bitter political and trade spats between Warsaw and Moscow.

Russia imposed an embargo on meat imports from Poland in 2005 over food safety concerns, but Poland countered that the ban was groundless and accused Russia of playing politics.

Poland has also sought to hamper Russia`s efforts to join the 151-nation World Trade Organisation (WTO), which lays down the rules for much of global commerce.

Tusk also said that Poland`s new stance on the OECD would help spur Russia`s WTO entry bid, but his spokeswoman Agnieszka Liszka later said this was a "slip" by the premier.

Poland has also vetoed talks between its fellow members of the 27-nation European Union and Russia on a new partnership accord because of the meat ban.

sections: Politics, World News