Schwarzenberg: Russia needs to realise it hurt own interests

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers into the weekend, addressed the conflict in Georgia on Friday by saying Russia needed to understand it had hurt its own interests by intervening militarily in the country. Mr Schwarzenberg said he discussed the issue with his French and Swedish counterparts, Bernard Kouchner and Carl Bildt ahead of further talks. France, the Czech Republic and Sweden follow each other in holding the EU presidency from now through 2009. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to go to Moscow on Monday and call on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia, a move Mr Schwarzenberg said the Czech Republic strongly supported. On Saturday, EU ministers have been scheduled to discuss a joint strategy in connection with the EU-Russia summit on November 14. The focus is also on humanitarian aid to Georgia and reconstruction.