STABILISING GEORGIA:EUROPEAN UNION foreign ministers have backed the ceasefire between Russia and Georgia brokered by French president Nicolas Sarkozy of France, pledged humanitarian aid to deal with the consequences of the fighting and raised the possibility of European peace monitors.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid Peter Power, who represented Ireland at yesterday's emergency meeting in Brussels, said there was broad support for the initiative taken by the French president on behalf of the EU.
"Ireland supported the initiative. Our position is that the ceasefire should now be given time to take hold and we were anxious to ensure that it would not be undermined," said the Mr Power.
"Some people wanted to go down the road of making judgments but we did not think that was appropriate at this time," he said.
He added that Ireland would be involved in providing humanitarian assistance and that Ireland's Rapid Response Corps is on standby if required.
The Minister said that there had been a great deal of praise at the meeting for Mr Sarkozy's initiative and it had demonstrated the ability of the EU to make a decisive intervention with positive results. He added that the question of sending peacekeepers to the region would be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers next month.
The foreign ministers were informed during their meeting of media reports that Russian tanks were moving into Georgia. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt left the meeting to check on the situation with Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitors in Georgia. He reported back to colleagues that it appeared the media had exaggerated the position.
During informal discussions before the meeting, many took the view that the US-backed Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili had acted in a "very rash and impulsive fashion" by taking on the Russians although there was also a view that the Russians had responded with disproportionate force.
There were some differences between the former eastern bloc countries and other EU states about the best way to respond. Poland and the Baltic states, wary of a resurgent Russia using its muscle to dominate neighbours, condemned what they called Moscow's aggression against Georgia.
Speaking before the meeting, Lithuanian foreign minister Petras Vaitiekunas said there must be consequences for Russia's "unacceptable and unproportional" use of force.
However, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier retorted: "I see no point in us getting lost in a long debate about responsibility for and origins of the escalation of the last few days.
"You can decide to make strong statements with one-sided condemnations, or you can look to the future and take a real role in stabilising the situation," he said.
British foreign secretary David Miliband said the EU should decide next month "whether or not and how" to continue talks on closer ties with Moscow.
Before the meeting, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, who accompanied Mr Sarkozy on his mission to broker a peace agreement in Moscow on Tuesday, said he was convinced Russia would accept a European presence to ensure the ceasefire held.
Georgian foreign minister Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili said on arrival in Brussels that Russia was still attacking the Georgian town of Gori, outside South Ossetia, and he wanted to see EU monitors on the ground.
Carl Bildt, who visited Georgia for the Council of Europe, cast doubt on whether Moscow would allow European monitors into zones that it had held or captured.
"There are no signs of the Russians letting in anyone else," he said. "I don't really see it happening - at the moment the Russians are firmly in control."
The United States, meanwhile, has requested a meeting of Nato foreign ministers over the situation in Georgia. This could take place early next week, a Nato spokeswoman said.
