DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

European Union leaders are considering imposing sanctions on Russia over the Georgia crisis. Speaking in Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that sanctions were being considered ahead of Monday's emergency EU summit in Brussels. In a separate move, the Group of Seven rich nations has jointly condemned Russia's decision to recognise the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Western nations also said Russian troops still occupying parts of Georgia were violating a six-point EU-brokered peace plan. Meanwhile the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, has issued a joint statement that denounces the use of force and calls for respect for every country's territorial integrity. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had travelled to the SCO summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, hoping to garner international support over recent events in Georgia. The SCO includes Russia, China and four ex-Soviet Central Asian states.