Moscow - Russia hopes that the newly designated EU leadership, Herman van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, will provide continuity in EU-Russian relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday.

"I'm convinced Herman van Rompuy will continue on the path of developing a strategic partnership with Russia," Lavrov said, referring to the incoming president of the European Council, at a meeting with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Moscow.

Lavrov also said he looked forward to working with the EU's new head of foreign relations created by the Lisbon Treaty, saying that Ashton had always taken Moscow seriously in her previous post as EU trade commissioner.

"We hope she will continue to do so in her new role," he said. (dpa)