By KUNA,
London : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was holding crisis talks with EU leaders Monday as they consider how to respond to Russian military action against Georgia, Downing Street said.
The Prime Minister has warned the Kremlin to expect a “determined” reaction, branding its behaviour “dangerous and unacceptable.” Measures could include a “root and branch” review of EU-Russia relations and exclusion from key international bodies such as the G8, according to Brown.
In an article for the Observer newspaper yesterday, he also insisted the West must become less reliant on Russian energy because it was being used as a “policy tool.” However, Moscow, which supplies more than a quarter of Europe’s gas, played down the chances of serious retaliation.
Yuri Fedotov, the ambassador to the UK, said imposing sanctions would “hurt the European Union first of all much more than Russia.” Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev stressed that the decision to recognise Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia was “irrevocable.” And Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he expected EU countries to act in their “self-interest” rather than seeking to punish Russia.
“So far, we have seen no practical steps that would bear evidence to a cooling-off. I hope this won’t happen, because no matter what, whatever is being said, the truth is on our side,” Putin told Russian TV.
At the summit, called by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, leaders of the 27-nation bloc are expected to announce measures of support for Georgia and to condemn Russia.
Russias attempted partition of the Caucasian state, but they will not consider economic sanctions against Moscow, officials said.
The leaders will condemn Russias recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two separatist enclaves of Georgia, and demand the Kremlin fully implement a six-point peace plan brokered by Sarkozy between Georgia and Russia, the officials added.
For his part, Britains main opposition Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague called on European leaders to exert long-term pressure rather than “lashing out” with sanctions.
He told the satellite TV station “Sky News” there should be a review of Russian purchases of “strategic assets” in Europe, and tighter restrictions on visas for Russian nationals.
“I do not think the measures… should be cheap or quick,” Hague said.