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French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (L) with Georgia's President Mikhail Saakachvili during a recent visit to Tbilisi.
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PARIS (EJP)---European Union leaders, who will hold Monday an extraordinary meeting on the Georgia crisis in Brussels, are considering sanctions "and many other means" against Russia, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.
Kouchner, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, gave no further details but added "this will be solved by negotiation".
Moscow's military offensive in Georgia and its recognition of independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has been condemned by the EU.
Russia's president Dmitry Medveded said he has the support of China and four central Asian states for its actions in Georgia.
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The 27 EU leaders are to convene next Monday in Brussels for an extraordinary summit over the Georgia crisis.
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Speaking at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Medvedev said the grouping's united position would have "international resonance".
SCO includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was created in 2001 as a counterweight to NATO influence in the region.
France has called an emergency EU summit on Monday to reassess relations with Russia after its refusal to pull back all its troops from Georgia in line with the French-brokered truce agreement.
Observers noted that Kouchner's mention of EU sanctions against Moscow is a complete U-turn from his position earlier this week, when he insisted they were not on the agenda.
