European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has warned Russia not to try to create divisions within the European Union by dismissing the concerns of some newer members.
Mr Barroso in an interview with German magazine Focus said: 'One can get the impression that Russia views some EU members, like Poland or the Baltic states, differently from others.'
He said Moscow had to realise the interests of Poland were just as legitimate as those of France, Germany or Portugal.
His comments follow a frosty EU-Russia summit in Samara on Friday in which EU leaders refused to rein in some eastern European members involved in disputes with Russia.
Poland has blocked the start of talks between Russia and the EU on a new partnership agreement after Moscow imposed a ban on imports of Polish meat.
Russia has also accused Estonia of desecrating the memory of World War II victims after it moved a Soviet-era war memorial and Lithuania is unhappy Russia has turned off an oil pipeline.
'Putin noticed (at the summit) that European unity is not to be broken,' Barroso told the magazine.
Russia and the EU also clashed over democracy at their summit as German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised Russia for stopping some demonstrators attending a rally and Barroso pointed to the human rights situation in Russia.
