EU urges Russia to comply with ceasefire

European Union foreign ministers appealed to Moscow today to follow through on commitments to withdraw its forces from Georgia under a ceasefire plan.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will lead an EU diplomatic mission to the Kremlin on Monday to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the crisis.

The leaders will focus on ironing out disagreements over how far back Russian forces should be withdrawn from Georgian territory and to get agreement on deploying observers.

“We need to clarify the situation,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said. “On Monday, we must try our utmost to get the full application of the cease-fire plan.”

Mr Kouchner hosted two-day talks of EU ministers in the southern French city of Avignon that began on Friday. The discussions have been dominated by the Georgian crisis and how the EU can mediate a long-term solution to the stand-off over Georgia’s breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

French officials said the priority of Mr Sarkozy’s visit to Moscow was to ensure Russian implementation of all parts of the ceasefire plan they signed three weeks ago after the five-day war.

Mr Kouchner said the EU expects Russia to withdraw its forces to their positions prior to the start of the war August 7.

“It will be necessary to control, observe and verify,” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.

Several EU nations, including Poland, have warned they will push for EU sanctions against Russia if it fails to fully implement the ceasefire plan.

Ministers met in the historic papal palace in the centre of the city to brainstorm how the bloc should handle a resurgent Russian foreign policy to restore its influence over its neighbours.

The EU is set to offer Georgia and Ukraine closer ties to offset Russian ambitions to restore its influence there and also look to forge better links with Moldova and Azerbaijan.

EU officials said they were drafting to offer so-called EU partnerships with many ex-Soviet republics to counter Moscow’s influence. Such partnerships could include free trade pacts and visa-free travel to the EU.

“We need some kind of a financial package, a stability pact of sorts and that needs to be worked out,” Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said.

Mr Kouchner insisted the aim of the EU was also to improve relations with Russia, despite current disagreements.

“Russia must remain a partner, it’s our neighbour, it’s a large country and there is no question to go back to a Cold War situation, that would be a big mistake,” Mr Kouchner said.