Stand up to the bully

29 Aug 2008 By Pierre Briancon

European politicians needn t shy away from sanctions against Moscow. The Russian business climate is already suffering after the Georgian war, and the West has leverage over Russian assets abroad. Hints of energy cutoffs notwithstanding, the EU needn t fear Russia s bluff.

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Leaders of the European Union are scheduled to meet today in a display of unity to condemn Russia's intervention in Georgia and its recognition of the independence of the two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The summit of the 27nation body was called by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president who currently heads the E.U., and who brokered a ceasefire betwen the belligerents last month.

Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian president, warned on Sunday that Russia intended to defend spheres of "priveleged interests" on or close to its borders, and said it would defend "the life and dignity" of its citizens, wherever they may live. This was part of a fivepoint policy statement Medvedev gave to reporters in Sochi, on the Black Sea.

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