EU to warn Russia on ties: report

By Marcin Grajewski and Ingrid Melander

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will warn Russia on Monday that Moscow's future ties with the bloc could depend on its adhering fully to a peace deal to end the Georgia conflict, according to a draft summit statement.

The five-page text, obtained by Reuters as EU leaders began emergency talks in Brussels, strongly condemned Russia's move to recognize the independence of the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and urged other countries to avoid such a step.

It contained no references to sanctions but described ties between the 27-nation bloc and its largest energy supplier as being at a "crossroads" ahead of a long-scheduled November 14 meeting between European and Russian leaders in Nice, France.

"The European Council is gravely concerned by the open conflict which has broken out in Georgia, by the resulting violence and by the disproportionate reaction of Russia," the draft said.

"In the light of the situation and in particular the implementation by Russia of all its commitments under the six-point (peace) plan, (the review) may lead to decisions on the continuation of discussions on the future of relations between the Union and Russia in various areas."

Before the summit opened, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow's military intervention in Georgia had set a new standard for defending its national interests.

"Russia has returned to the world stage as a responsible state which can defend its citizens," he declared, adding that the United States must "start adapting" to this reality.

Russia crushed Georgia in a short war last month after Tbilisi tried to recapture by force its rebel, pro-Russian region of South Ossetia

"Today the word 'sanctions' is not on the agenda, today the word is 'dialogue'," he added, conceding that EU states would go into the 2-1/2-hour meeting with "very different positions".

UNDER OBSERVATION

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Russia was a power to be reckoned with and that he did not expect any steps from the Brussels meeting that would "aggravate" the situation.

"It still has a nuclear potential able to destroy 10 times the population of the world. It's a country growing at a rate of 7-8 percent a year. It's a country which has oil and gas," he told Canale 5 TV.

EU presidency sources expect the summit at least to warn Moscow that EU-Russia ties will be put "under observation" and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that could determine the outcome of a EU-Russia summit in Nice, France, on November14.

"All things have to be re-evaluated," Solana told reporters.

The EU is also due to offer closer ties with Georgia, including talks on a free trade deal, an easier visa regime for its citizens and the deployment of civilian EU monitors.

The tussle within the EU is complicated by the bloc's dependence on Moscow for much of its oil and gas, and the struggle to develop other sources such as the Nabucco pipeline due to bring Azeri gas to Europe via Georgia and Turkey.

It is also made difficult by the West's desire to retain Russia's cooperation on difficult diplomatic issues like Iran's nuclear program

Russia sent its troops into Georgian territory after Georgia's military tried to retake South Ossetia, like Abkhazia a Moscow-backed region which rejects Tbilisi's rule.

Moscow has withdrawn most of its forces in line with a ceasefire deal but has kept soldiers and equipment in "security zones", which include Georgian territory around South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Western governments have demanded Moscow pull its troops back to pre-conflict positions, as it agreed to do under a French-brokered peace plan. The Kremlin says the troops are peacekeepers needed to protect the separatist regions from new Georgian aggression.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country did not want confrontation or isolation but it will defend its interests when they are threatened.

"The absolute priority for us is the defense of the life and dignity of our citizens, no matter where they are located," Medvedev told Russian television on Sunday.

Foreign minister Lavrov said Russia's action in Georgia had "set a kind of standard for reaction, which fully complies with international law", and the United States must learn to live with it.

(Additional reporting by Sophie Louet in Paris, Frank Prenesti in London and and Robin Pomeroy in Rome; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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