EU freezes Moscow talks until troop withdrawal

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would visit both Moscow and Tbilisi next Monday for talks on the Caucasus crisis, accompanied by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"As long as the withdrawal of troops has not been respected, all meetings on the (EU-Russia) partnership accord are postponed," Barroso told journalists after the extraordinary summit, the first since the Iraq war in 2003.

"It is clear that in the light of recent events, we cannot continue as if nothing has happened," Barroso added.

Sarkozy said the crisis "means that we have to re-examine our relationship with Russia."

The French president will meet his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Sept. 8 in Moscow, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday, citing an aide to Medvedev, Sergei Prikhodko, saying Moscow intended to follow up on previous contacts with Sarkozy.

"The meeting on September 8 is going to be crucial for relations between the EU and Russia," Sarkozy said.

The EU’s decision at the emergency summit came as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili hailed a turnout of "one million" protesters who poured into the streets to demonstrate against Russia’s military action.

But it coincided with the rebel leader of the separatist region at the root of the crisis saying that he plans for South Ossetia to become a part of Russia and to host Russian military bases.

"We aim for this," Eduard Kokoity told journalists Monday when asked if the enclave intended to join Russia.

In a joint summit statement, the European leaders said relations with Russia "have reached a crossroads." They urged Moscow "not to isolate itself from Europe".

Condemning Russia’s "disproportionate reaction" in Georgia, they argued that a military solution to the crisis was not acceptable.

The EU voiced support for Georgia, promised help with reconstruction and agreed to send a "fact-finding mission" immediately -- with the possibility later of "an increased European Union commitment on the ground."

The EU leaders also committed to organizing an international donors conference to drum up aid for Georgia’s reconstruction.

EU-Russia relations are currently governed by a partnership accord that dates from the post-communist era of 1997.

After many delays, negotiations on a fresh framework for diplomatic, economic and military relations were finally launched in July, and the next round of the talks had been scheduled for Sept. 15.

"We’ve had to wait 18 months for the EU to get itself ready," said Russia’s ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov. "We don’t need these talks or this new agreement any more than the EU does."

In Tbilisi, huge posters depicting images of dead and injured from last months fighting against Russia hung from buildings along the protest route.

"Georgia is united as never before, there are one million people on the streets," Saakashvili told a crowd on Freedom Square as simultaneous protests took place in several other towns and in European capitals.

"Georgia will never stop resisting, Georgia will never surrender!" he added.

The EU opted against sanctions against Russia, and Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said it was Georgia and not Russia that should be subjected to an arms embargo.

Solana had said the EU hoped to launch an observer mission to Georgia within weeks, and that an "exploratory mission" of around 40 people now was on the ground.

Russia indicated it would support an international police mission to Georgia to help maintain security around the two breakaway regions.

"Such a presence could be deployed under a mandate of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) with the support of the European Union," foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists.

In other developments, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will travel to Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Italy as planned, the White House said as Hurricane Gustav crashed ashore near New Orleans. He was to depart on Tuesday.

Hardliners Poland and Britain voiced approval of the EU stance, while Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, keen not to ruin ties with Moscow, hailed what she called "a signal of unity from Brussels".

Sarkozy brokered a six-point ceasefire agreement that ended the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in August.

The Kremlin ordered tanks and troops to push back a Georgian offensive on Aug. 7 to retake South Ossetia, a separatist region that broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s with Moscow’s backing.

But Russian forces have remained deep inside Georgian territory, well beyond South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Moscow describes the military presence as a peacekeeping mission. Tbilisi calls them an occupation force.

Photo: AA