Exclusive - EU's Juncker dangles trade ties with Russia-led bloc to Putin

European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker addresses a news conference after the Valletta Summit on Migration, followed by an informal meeting of European Union heads of state and government in Valletta, Malta, November 12, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman

VILNIUS (Reuters) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, suggesting closer trade ties between the 28-nation EU and a Russian-led economic bloc, linking them to progress on implementing a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The letter, written after a G20 summit in Turkey and seen by Reuters, underlined the importance Juncker attached to good relations between the European Union and Moscow, "which to my regret have not been able to develop over the past year".