France says EU considering sanctions against Russia

By Francois Murphy

PARIS (Reuters) - European Union leaders are considering imposing sanctions against Russia ahead of a summit on Monday to discuss the situation in Georgia, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Thursday.

Asked at a news conference in Paris about measures that could be taken over Moscow's refusal to pull back troops in Georgia, Kouchner said: "Sanctions are being considered and many other means as well".

The comments were immediately dismissed by Kouchner's Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who said they were the product of a "sick imagination".

"I think it is a demonstration of complete confusion," he told reporters at a meeting in Tajikistan.

France, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, has called a meeting of EU heads of government on Monday to discuss the Georgian crisis that blew up this month over the Russian-backed separatist enclave of South Ossetia.

"We are trying to elaborate a strong text that will show our determination not to accept (what is happening in Georgia)," Kouchner said. "Of course, there are also sanctions."

"I don't want to talk about sanctions myself ahead of time, when the meeting itself has not taken place. But we are working with our 26 partners at this moment," Kouchner added.

He was careful to stress that France itself was not among the countries pressing for sanctions. "I am not proposing them," he said. "I say they will certainly be suggested. Certain countries have already asked that sanctions be imposed."