EU-Russia relations in doubt, EU leaders say (2nd Lead)

Brussels - Moscow's failure to fully implement the six-point peace plan agreed with Georgia threatens Russia's future relationship with the European Union, the bloc's leaders were set to agree Monday. To avoid repercussions, Russian troops should immediately withdraw to the lines they held prior to the conflict, and the Kremlin should agree to international discussions on solving the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. At an emergency summit in Brussels, EU leaders were expected to state that relations with Russia would be 'evaluated, carefully and deeply'. Such an evaluation 'could lead to decisions ... on the future of relations between the Union and Russia' by the time an EU-Russia summit is due to take place in Nice on November 14. According to a draft under discussion in Brussels, EU leaders also strongly denounced Russia's recognition of Georgia's two breakaway regions and called on other countries not to follow Moscow's lead. 'We appeal to other countries not to recognize their proclamation of independence,' the draft says. So far, Russia is the only country to have recognized the two regions as independent nations. And only Belarus and Venezuela have vowed to do the same. This has not stopped Russian 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. EU countries were also expected to 'contribute significantly' to the OSCE's current monitoring mission in Georgia's two breakaway regions. 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. In the meantime, the EU will provide funds to assist Georgia's reconstruction, organize a donors conference and strengthen its ties with the southern Caucasus nation through a future free-trade agreement and visa facilitations for Georgian nationals wishing to visit any of the EU's member states. 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. While Poland, the Baltic trio and Britain have called on the EU to react strongly to Russia's aggression, heavyweights Germany, France and Italy all insist on the need to maintain dialogue with Moscow. German Chancellor Angela Merkel brushed aside talks of sanctions prior to the meeting by insisting that dialogue between the EU and Russia should not break down. Merkel said Monday's summit should have two goals: help rebuild Georgia and show unity in condemning Russia's recognition of the enclaves, which she described as 'a violation of international law.' She said she was 'disappointed and dissatisfied' that Russia had not fully implemented the six-point plan drawn up on August 12 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in his role as EU president, to end the brief conflict between Russia and Georgia. 'The violation of Georgian territorial integrity is unacceptable,' she said, but added that the 'threads of dialogue with Russia should not be severed.' The EU's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero Waldner, said the Union was facing 'a very difficult moment' in its relationship with Russia, but said EU leaders should agree on a 'realistic and balanced approach.' Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged his fellow EU members to draw up a position 'that shows that military aggression will not pay off.' He also called on the EU to strengthen its relationship with Georgia and to wean itself from its dependence on Russian gas and oil. EU nations are largely dependant on Russia for their energy needs, and currently import about 40 per cent of their gas and some 33 per cent of their oil from Russia.