EU postpones talks with Russia

BRUSSELS (AFP) - EU leaders decided Monday to postpone the next round of strategic partnership talks with Russia, which had been scheduled for September 15, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

“As long as the withdrawl of (Russian) troops has not been respected, all meetings on the partnership accord are postponed,” Barroso told journalists after an emergency EU summit on the Georgian crisis.

“We are postponing all of our meetings on the strategic partnership agreement,” added President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.