02 September 2008, 13:09
European Union condemns Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
On September 1, the participants of the extraordinary EU summit held in Brussels condemned recognition by Russia of Abkhazia's and South Ossetian's independence.
The condemnation of the step made by Russia's leadership in given in the summit's final declaration adopted by the heads of the states and governments of the European Union, the ITAR-TASS reports.
In spite of the fact that none of Georgian representatives was admitted to the summit, the EU countries announced their intention to render humanitarian and economic assistance to Georgia, to organize an international conference of Georgia's donors and to consider possible steps towards development of economic cooperation, including a free trade zone and simplification of visa mode with Georgia.
At the same time, the European Union decided to postpone negotiations on a new partnership agreement with Russia until Moscow completely withdraws its troops from the Georgian territory. In a week, the EU delegation will leave for to Russia and Georgia to check the observance of the ceasefire agreement.
In his turn, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, current EU chair, along with condemnation of Russia's actions against Georgia, has called to continue dialogue with Moscow and not to break partnership relations. He also emphasized the need to convoke, in the near future, an all-European conference on Georgia's recovery, the Reuters reports.
Besides, Mr Sarkozy has noted that the present situation in Georgia is not a pretext for getting back to cold war, the RIA "Novosti" reports.
