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BRUSSELS: European Union leaders gathered Monday for an emergency summit to review relations with Russia over the conflict with Georgia but sanctions are unlikely.
With Moscow warning that it would retaliate if its interests are threatened, leaders of the 27-nation block were expected to agree a pledge of aid to Georgia and help for its economy.
To coincide with the Brussels talks, tens of thousands of people were expected to stage anti-Russia rallies in Georgia and major European cities.
"Russia's attachment to a relationship of understanding and cooperation with the rest of Europe is in question," French leader Nicolas Sarkozy said in the official invitation to European heads of state and government.
"It's up to Russia to make a fundamental choice in this respect," he added.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Sarkozy wants to travel to Moscow and Tbilisi in a bid to resolve the crisis which has sparked talk of a new Cold War .
Sarkozy brokered a six point ceasefire agreement that ended the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in August.
The three-hour summit will see a pledge of more aid for Georgia, whose armed forces launched an offensive on August 7 in a bid to bring the breakaway South Ossetia region back under central control. Russia sent in its troops one day later.
With France holding the EU's rotating presidency, Sarkozy called the summit so that the EU could formulate a "clear and united message" over the conflict.
While the prospect of sanctions was in the air, the French EU presidency has all but ruled them out, although EU leaders could decide to slow down negotiations on a new strategic partnership pact.
The EU leaders will examine ways to bolster Georgia's economy, and kickstart work on a free-trade area, as well as propose easing visa restrictions for Georgian citizens.
The EU could send observers to the region, though where they would be able to operate remains unclear.
A source in Sarkozy's office said the leaders would state "that the six-point deal must be applied in its entirety".
However the leaders will have to overcome divisions over how to deal with Russia, with many of the ex-communist EU members, plus Britain and Sweden, pushing for a tough line.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged on Sunday a "root and branch" review of EU relations with Russia in a hard-worded article in the Observer newspaper.
Other countries, led by France and Germany, are eager to have a more nuanced position in order to avoid damaging ties with Russia.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, in a newspaper article Monday, said Russia is not a "hostile" country.
Frattini said he would travel to Russia and Georgia this week in a bid to ease hostilities between the two.
"If some countries think that we can sever ties with Russia they should explain how we shall then deal with issues like Iran's nuclear" drive, Frattini told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
On the eve of the summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev maintained a tough line, warning that Moscow was ready to retaliate against sanctions and that there was "no turning back" on his decision to recognise Georgia's rebel regions, which has been fiercely condemned by the West.
"We are not advocates of sanctions and consider them to be a last resort," Medvedev said in an interview to Russian television.
Imposing sanctions requires the adoption of special laws, he said.
"If needed, we also can adopt such special laws," the president warned.
In a change of stance, Georgia said on Sunday that it was not looking for EU sanctions against Russia. "For us, European sanctions against Russia are not a priority," Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said.
- AFP/yb
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