Sarkozy calls emergency EU meeting over Georgia

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for an emergency European Union meeting on September 1 to discuss the crisis in Georgia.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for an emergency European Union (EU) meeting on September 1 to discuss the crisis in Georgia.

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France currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

The meeting would take place in the Belgium capital Brussels, Sarkozy's office said in a statement on Sunday.

"This meeting will be dedicated to the Georgian crisis, mainly the position European Union intends to adopt. Aid for Georgia and future relations with Russia would be discussed," the statement said.

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has said Russia completed its troop withdrawal from Georgia on Friday.

Earlier, France and the US had criticised Russia for not complying with a France-brokered ceasefire agreement with Georgia.

Moscow had sent troops to Georgia after it attacked South Ossetia on Aug 7 in an attempt to regain control of the breakaway region that borders Russia.

South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. However, its independence has not been internationally recognised.