BRUSSELS: EU foreign ministers will decide on Monday whether to recommend ending a suspension of partnership talks with Moscow imposed over Russia''s war with Georgia.

While still contesting Russia''s backing for breakaway Georgian territories, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the ministers are expected to decide that Russia has kept its commitments by withdrawing troops from a buffer zone around the contested territories.

Russian troops moved into Georgia on August 8 after Georgia''s offensive to try to bring South Ossetia back under government control.

EU leaders called off talks on a strategic partnership agreement with Russia at a special summit on September 1 and one week later Russia agreed to bring its troops out of the buffer zones.

Any recommendation made by the European ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg will go to a full EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday. International talks on the future of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are to start in Geneva on Wednesday.

France is current EU president and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana said on Friday that Russia had kept to the withdrawal bargain.

Countries such as Poland, Sweden and the Baltic republics, which generally take a tougher line on Russia, say Moscow has not kept the deal because Russia still has about 7,000 troops in the two separatist regions, when there were only 2,000-3,000 before the August war.

EU leaders had demanded a return to positions before the conflict erupted but the accord struck with Russia only said that Russian troops should be pulled out of areas around South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

French EU officials said that the ending of the talks suspension would not mark a return to "business as usual" and that efforts must be made to make Russia accept binding accords.

The Geneva talks, which will also involve Russia, Georgia and the United States, could last for years because it would take so long to raise all of the "practical problems" on the future of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the officials said.