Russia seeks to avoid EU wrath ahead of bloc's summit today

Moscow: Russia on Sunday sought to ease tensions with the West ahead of an EU emergency summit on the Georgia conflict as Britain pushed for a "root and branch" review of the bloc's relations with Moscow.

President Dmitry Medvedev spoke by phone with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has taken a more lenient stance than other European countries on Russia's actions in Georgia.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown argued that Russia's military surge into Georgia and recognition of Georgian rebel regions left EU leaders with little choice but to change course with Moscow.

"In the light of Russian actions, the EU should review - root and branch - our relationship with Russia," he wrote in a commentary published in London's Observer newspaper.

The prime minister said he had warned Medvedev in a telephone call on Saturday "to expect a determined European response" to the situation in Georgia at the Brussels summit today.

The Kremlin press service said Medvedev had "discussed the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia" with Berlusconi, who is a close personal friend of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The leaders also touched on "post-crisis developments", the press service said, without elaborating.

Turkey has proposed forming a regional cooperation group to stabilise the Caucasus region in the aftermath of the war between Russia and Georgia. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan says the proposed group would include Turkey and four nearby Caucasia nations: Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.