BRUSSELS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The European Union and Russia are experiencing the worst mistrust since the end of the Cold War, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on Friday.

    "Relations between the EU and Russia are going through a difficult period. Indeed, they contain a level of misunderstanding or even mistrust we have not seen since the end of the Cold War," Mandelson said in a speech prepared for a conference held later Friday in Bologna, Italy. An advance copy was released by his office in Brussels.

    Mandelson noted that Russia often interpreted Europe's engagement in the former Soviet Union as the encroachment of a self-interested neighbor, and similar distrust happened when Europe intervened in Russia's internal political debate.

    "Tensions and uncertainty are running high both within Russia, among her neighbors and in her relations with the EU and its member states," he said.

    Mandelson said each side tended to suspect the other of double standards, notably on energy issues. "Both believe the other is using the energy weapon as an instrument of politics. Neither thinks they enjoy the respect and goodwill from the other they are entitled to expect," he said.

    The EU trade chief again called for a legal framework for international energy trade to ensure security of both supply and demand and facilitate investments on both sides of the borders.

    "Europe wants security of supply -- Russia wants security of demand. Russia needs European upstream investment in its energy sector, while seeking itself to invest in downstream markets in Europe. Rules that allow investment to flow both ways would interlock producer and consumer markets and deepen stability," Mandelson said.

    Besides energy, Russian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) was another critical issue raised by Mandelson in his speech.

    "It would be wrong to see trade rules as simply binding Russia without benefiting her too. Russia needs to be in the WTO and we have a duty to assist this which is why I am frustrated by our continuing bilateral disagreement on a number of issues," Mandelson said.

    The 27-nation bloc is hoping to negotiate a new cooperation and trade pact with Russia, but the talks stalled last year due to a Poland's veto as it demanded Russia to lift a 16-month ban on Polish meat imports.

    Trust was further eroded recently by the United States' plan to deploy missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, which is unacceptable to Russia.

    On Thursday, NATO allies failed to convince the EU's neighbor that the U.S. deployment do not pose a threat to it at a meeting with Russia.

    "Unless we comprehend our different perceptions of the landscape left behind by the last century, we risk getting the EU-Russia relationship badly wrong," said Mandelson.

    EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou will have a meeting on Saturday in Cyprus with Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev, discussing the embargo on Polish meat and other farm products.

    Two days later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Luxembourg to join his EU counterparts at a sideline meeting on wide-ranging issues.