Russian and EU leaders have arrived in Russia's Far East for a summit on the economic crisis and the supply of Russian energy, seeking to set a strained relationship back on track after a series of crises.

Russian President Dimitri Medvedev, European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso and Czech President Vaclav Klaus, whose country holds the EU presidency, were among the top officials attending the two-day meeting. Khabarovsk, just 30 kilometres from China, is the most easterly venue ever chosen for an EU-Russia summit.

Ties between Moscow and the EU - Russia's largest trading partner - were unsettled by the war with Georgia last August and Russia's subsequent recognition of two Georgian breakaway regions as independent, which the EU opposed. Then, a gas crisis with Ukraine, which saw Russia cut off supplies to several EU states for two weeks in January, exacerbated the situation further and prompted Mr Barroso to look for alternative energy suppliers.

The EU is also concerned about Russia's increase of customs duties on a wide range of imported goods Europe, despite reassurances from Moscow that they will fight protectionism.