EU issues Russian troop ultimatum (3rd Lead)

Sep 1, 2008, 18:22 GMT

Georgians attend a protest action in Tbilisi, Georgia, 01 September 2008. According to Rustavi 2 Georgian broadcasting company, more than million people across Georgia took part in the action protesting against Russia\'s military operations in Georgia. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced 01 September the Day of Georgia\'s Unity. EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE

Brussels - The European Union told Moscow on Monday that it will not hold fresh talks on a new EU-Russia partnership agreement until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia.

'As long as the withdrawal of troops to the positions they held before August 7 has not been achieved, negotiations on a partnership agreement will be postponed,' EU leaders said in a statement issued at the conclusion of an emergency summit in Brussels.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, said he planned to head a high-level EU delegation on a visit to Moscow on Monday.

Sarkozy said the visit would give the EU a chance to review the situation and find out whether the six-point peace plan was being implemented.

If there was no sign of a withdrawal by then, the EU would consider postponing the next round of talks with Russia for a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), currently scheduled for September 15.

'The September 8 meeting is very important for our future relationship with Russia,' Sarkozy said.

Sarkozy said Russia's 'disproportionate use of force' and its recognition of Georgia's two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia meant the EU had no choice but to re-examine its relationship with Russia.

'We want a real partnership with Russia, but it takes two to have a partnership,' Sarkozy said.

At their meeting in Brussels, EU leaders agreed that Russia's actions in its smaller neighbouring state posed a serious threat to future EU-Russia relations.

Such relations would be reviewed at an EU-Russia summit scheduled to take place on November 14 in Nice.

EU leaders condemned Russia's recognition of Georgia's two breakaway regions as a violation of international law and called on other countries not to follow Moscow's lead.

'We appeal to other countries not to recognize their proclamation of independence,' they said.

So far, Russia is the only country to have recognized the two regions as independent nations. And only Belarus and Venezuela have indicated that they might do the same.

However, Russia's isolation has not stopped President Dmitry Medvedev from firing a warning shot at the EU by saying that Moscow's decision to recognize the breakaway Georgian enclaves was 'irrevocable.'

'From a legal standpoint, the new states have come into existence. The process of their being recognized can take a long time, but our position will not change because of that,' he said Sunday on Russian television.

At their meeting in Brussels, EU leaders also agreed to 'contribute significantly' to the OSCE's current monitoring mission in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The bloc's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said the EU was ready to send 'hundreds' of observers to verify if Moscow is implementing the ceasefire agreement.

The conflict between Georgia and Russia has revived fears of a new Cold War and has also highlighted deep divisions within the 27-member bloc.

But Sarkozy stressed on Monday that the EU had shown that it was united. The president also insisted that the EU should continue to hold dialogue with, rather than isolate, Moscow.

'We condemn the disproportionate reaction of the Russians and we are aware of our responsibilities in keeping dialogue with our Russian partner on the rails,' Sarkozy said.

'We are also aware of the expectations on the Georgian side and we will not disappoint them,' he added.

On top of sending observers and providing aid, the EU planned to organize a donors conference for Georgia and work on a free-trade agreement with the South Caucasus nation.

The easing of visa restrictions for Georgian nationals wishing to visit the EU was also on the cards.