EU authorities in late September said negotiations with Russia would be resumed in October. Now, however, the talks might be postponed as Lithuania wants Russia to pull more soldiers out of the conflict zones in the Caucasus. Russia has complied with the demand to pull its troops from Georgia proper. The resumed talks with Russia was up for debate at an EU foreign ministers meeting yesterday. The issues will also be on the agenda in the EU summit later this week, EUobserver.com reports. It is Lithuania which is leading the resistance against the new talks. The country wants Russia to also respect the earlier Moscow-Tbilisi-Paris peace accord of 12 August, under which “Russian armed forces will be pulled back to the line preceding the start of hostilities.” Russia kept around 2,500 soldiers in South Ossetia and Abkhazia prior to the conflict. But it has since pledged to station 7,600 troops in the two territories for an indefinite period of time and recognised the rebel enclaves as independent states.
