Russia welcomed the EU's decision Monday to re-start partnership talks frozen over Russia's war with Georgia in August, dpa reported.
"We have long been ready to re-start talks," an official with the government headed by Vladimir Putin said on condition of anonymity as Russia has not officially been informed.
EU leaders suspended talks on a new accord that governs its relations with the EU in protest of Russia's occupation of Georgia.
Moscow has pulled back troops to Georgia's breakaway provinces under an EU-brokered ceasefire, but many Western diplomats still say it is not enough.
EU heads are set to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a summit in the French resort of Nice on Friday.
"We have great hopes for the summit in Nice," the official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Monday.