EU presses Russia on Georgian pull-back

AVIGNON, France (Reuters) - The European Union sought on Saturday to raise pressure on Russia to pull back its troops in Georgia by agreeing plans to dispatch up to 200 civilian monitors there as early as next month.

The move came ahead of President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Moscow on Monday where he will tell Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to stick to the terms of an accord to end last month's South Ossetia conflict or risk harming ties with the EU.

"Let him (Medvedev) first respect his own signature. Of the six points, only two or let's say two-and-a-half, perhaps three, have been implemented," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told a news conference after an EU meeting in Avignon, France.

Kouchner did not spell out how the 27-member bloc -- which has so far avoided sanctions on its biggest energy supplier -- would respond if the Kremlin refused to pull back its troops to pre-conflict lines.

"It depends on the Russia answer of course... We must find a way to solve the problem," he added, acknowledging pressure from some ex-communist states for tougher action but insisting on the risk of the EU imposing what he called "unuseful sanctions".

Foreign ministers of the bloc approved plans to send a civilian monitoring mission to work with existing observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Officials said details of the EU mission would depend on the outcome of Sarkozy's visit.

Some nations argued for a deployment first to core Georgia, with personnel then spreading to buffer zones set up by Moscow in defiance of the West, and finally to the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"The likelihood the Russians will let them in to Abkhazia and South Ossetia is somewhat limited ... They should deploy where they could deploy and they should deploy fast," Sweden's Carl Bildt said.

MORE COOPERATION?

In a sign of increased Russian cooperation on the ground, the OSCE said its team of around 20 observers were now able to circulate freely throughout Georgia.

"I've gotten reports throughout the night ... and actually the OSCE monitors are now moving around quite freely," Finnish Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman in office Alexander Stubb told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

"We've had very good access. I think we're working at it and the Russians are, I'd argue, opening up," he said.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the new signs of Russian cooperation augured well for Sarkozy's visit, in which he will also take part. Asked about the chances of agreement during the visit, he said: "I think it will be possible".

However others were more downbeat, insisting that the West still regarded Russia in breach of its peace deal commitments.

"In that context it would be wrong for any foreign minister to pronounce himself optimistic in advance of a meeting to deliver on commitments that should have happened a long time ago," Foreign Secretary David Miliband noted.

EU leaders warned the Kremlin this week that they could postpone talks due this month on a new EU-Russia partnership pact, but avoided tougher sanctions amid internal divisions on how to deal with Europe's largest energy supplier.

Kouchner acknowledged "a certain robustness" in discussions in Avignon, with some eastern states, including Lithuania, seeking tougher measures on Russia if it does not comply.

A German-backed call for an independent inquiry into the responsibility borne by Russia and Georgia for the outbreak of hostilities won broad support at the meeting, Kouchner said.

(Writing and additional reporting by Ingrid Melander and Mark John; Editing by Janet Lawrence)