The European Union (EU)'s decision to suspend partnership talks with Russia is not wise, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said Monday at the bloc's summit in Brussels, Austrian national news agency APA reported.
Due to the crisis over South Ossetia, this may not be a good time to negotiate with Russia about closer ties. However, any gesture of threat to Russia under current conditions is not wise either, APA cited Gusenbauer as saying.
Since cooperation between Russia and the EU could benefit both sides, there is no need for the bloc to "burn its bridges," he said at an extraordinary EU summit on the issue in Brussels.
He also warned that the EU should neither use provocative language against Russia nor impose sanctions.
Instead, it should engage Russia in a "sensible dialogue" in a bid to ease tensions rather than "adding fuel to the flames," Gusenbauer suggested.
Meanwhile, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik announced that her country will provide Georgia with 350,000 euros (some 510,000 U.S. dollars) in aid.
The EU convened an extraordinary summit meeting Monday in an effort to arrive at a coordinated response from its members following Russia's recognition last week of the Georgian break away regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
Source:Xinhua
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