Russia on Tuesday criticized the European Union for threatening to postpone talks on a new partnership deal over the war in Georgia, and said the EU's statements on the Georgian conflict were biased, reported ap. The EU decision, widely seen as a slap-on-the-wrist for Moscow, was made at a summit meeting in Brussels on Monday. EU officials said unless Russian troops pull back from positions in Georgia, talks on the wide-ranging political and economic agreement would be put off. «The partnership with the European Union should not be a hostage to the conflict» over Georgia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told reporters Tuesday. Nesterenko also claimed efforts were under way to rebuild Georgia's armed forces, and said Georgian military forces were behind protests against Russian troops stationed in the country. «There are active attempts to restore the activity of Georgian troops,» he said. «Yesterday, there were rallies and provocations near the town of Kapoleti targeting Russian troops. We believe they were organized by Georgian special services.» Georgian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the claim. At Monday's summit, Britain and Eastern European nations held out for a tougher line on Russia. But Europe's dependence on Russian oil and natural gas deterred the EU from stronger sanctions. «Naturally, we cannot agree with a number of biased statements regarding Russia in the final declaration of the summit, including the assertion that our reaction to the Georgian aggression was disproportionate,» the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. «The main thing, however, is that they are in the minority and the majority of EU countries have manifested a responsible approach and confirmed their intention to continue the partnership with Russia,» the ministry said. Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's envoy to the European Union, suggested he was not surprised that the European Union declined to impose sanctions on Russia. «We are too interdependent,» he told reporters in Moscow. «Russia and the European Union are bound by destiny to be close partners.» He also denied allegations by EU members that Russia has failed to live up to the terms of the cease-fire agreed to between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
