(BRUSSELS) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday that he and his European Union counterparts would address the state of relations with Russia during their next meeting in September.

"We will speak very specifically about that in Gymnich," Kouchner said, referring to an EU foreign ministers' meeting scheduled September 5 and 6 in the southern French city of Avignon, when asked about formal EU ties with Russia in light of the conflict in Georgia.

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Wednesday when he arrived at the emergency meeting in Brussels that the European Union should reassess its relations with Russia after its "aggressive" actions in Georgia.

He said that the EU "should be able to address its relations with Russia" at a regular meeting of foreign ministers in early September, "and through decisions about whether or not and how to proceed with the partnership and cooperation agreement," he said.

Kouchner said "Miliband was listened to (on the subject of Russian relations) several times, with great interest, and we have satisfied his concerns."

The EU and Russia held their first talks last month on a sweeping new "strategic partnership" aimed at redefining their ties.

The partnership is meant to replace an existing one from 1997, taking into account new political, economic and energy realities between a bigger EU and a more powerful, assertive Russia.

Miliband slammed Russia's response to an offensive by the Georgian army last week to regain control of South Ossetia, the Moscow-backed region which broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.

"The aggressive Russian force beyond South Ossetian borders has been something that really shocked many people," he said.

"All of the European foreign ministers I've spoken to will have been shocked by the scenes that they've seen from Georgia over the last few days.

"The sight of Russian tanks in Gori, Russian tanks in Senaki, Russian blockade of Poti, the Georgian port are a chilling reminder of times that I think we had hoped had gone by."

Several ministers from eastern Europe echoed the criticism earlier in the day.

"There was clearly disproportionate force used by the Russians," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.

However a number of ministers said the focus on Russia's role should be put on hold until more pressing issues such as immediate humanitarian aid for civilians caught in the conflict are resolved.

"I'm sure we will have a very tough discussion about EU-Russia relations in the future," said Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, whose country holds the presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"The blame game and the tough talk will start at a later stage."

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it would be unproductive to point the finger at Russia now.

"I do not think we should get lost today in long discussions about responsibility or who caused the escalation of the last few days," he said.

Berlin heads a loose alliance known as the UN Group of Friends of the Secretary General which has been trying to cool tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi over another breakaway Georgian republic, Abkhazia.

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