Brussels - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday said the European Union may resume talks on a cooperation agreement with Russia, even if Moscow maintains a military presence in Georgia's separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "The decision of the European Council was not to go on with the talks on a new agreement with Russia before Russian troops withdraw from their positions inside Georgia, with the exception of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, because they were already there," Barroso said after a meeting in Brussels with Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas.
On September 1, EU leaders attending an emergency summit in Brussels agreed to postpone talks on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Russia until Russian troops "have withdrawn to the positions held prior to 7 August."
Before the August conflict with Georgia, Russia had a contingent of several hundred "peacekeepers" operating in the separatist regions.
But since then it has decided to strengthen its grip on South Ossetia and Abkhazia by deploying 3,700 troops in each breakaway region.
This has infuriated many Western countries, which argue that the decision violates an EU-brokered peace treaty.
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer blamed oversights in the September 8 deal for not demanding the full withdrawal of Russian troops to their bases in Russia.
"If the Russians are staying in South Ossetia with so many forces, I do not consider this as a return to the status quo," Scheffer told the Financial Times newspaper.
"The option of keeping Russian forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia is not acceptable," he added.
But Barroso on Wednesday said the EU preferred to maintain dialogue with Russia while at the same time expressing strong condemnation for its role in the conflict and its subsequent decision to recognize the two Georgian regions as independent states.
"If the Russians respect their commitments, we can of course discuss the future of our relationship. That was the decision unanimously taken by member states on September 1," Barroso said.
The comments by the head of the European Commission came just hours after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed friendship treaties Abkhazia and South Ossetia and promised them the backing of Russia's armed forces in case of need.
EU foreign ministers on Monday formally endorsed an EU ceasefire observers' mission to Georgia. But the EU contingent of at least 200 civilians will not be deployed to the breakaway regions for the time being.
This has left the union exposed to accusations that it is implicitly accepting a partition of Georgia.
