European Union leaders will assess the impact of their fraying relations with Moscow at a summit chaired by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday. But they face limited options to punish Russia for invading Georgia and recognizing the independence of its Abkhazia and South Ossetia provinces.
Taking a cue from the NATO alliance, the 27 European leaders are expected to strongly support Georgia's territorial integrity, to signal that normal relations with Moscow are impossible with Russian troops violating a cease-fire agreement, and to offer more humanitarian, economic and moral support for Georgia, the embattled pro-Western Caucasus state.
EU officials said the bloc's leaders will likely opt for diplomatic pressure to isolate Russia as an unreliable partner and neighbor.
"Russia's commitment to a relationship of understanding and cooperation with the rest of Europe is in doubt," Sarkozy wrote in a pre-summit letter to the EU leaders. "It's up to Russia today to make a fundamental choice" and to engage neighbors and partners in settling disputes peacefully, he wrote.
A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
EU officials said the bloc's leaders will likely opt for diplomatic pressure to isolate Russia as an unreliable partner and neighbor.
"Russia's commitment to a relationship of understanding and cooperation with the rest of Europe is in doubt," Sarkozy wrote in a pre-summit letter to the EU leaders. "It's up to Russia today to make a fundamental choice" and to engage neighbors and partners in settling disputes peacefully, he wrote.
A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
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