(BRUSSELS) - Russia's envoy to the European Union urged the bloc Thursday to refrain from imposing sanctions on Moscow, warning that such a move, to be discussed at a summit next week, would hurt the EU.

"Hopefully the leaders of the EU do not take a difficult decision on Monday, I certainly hope reason and common sense will prevail," Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov told reporters in Brussels.

He said he hoped the leaders could "rise above the emotion of the day and consider seriously and without prejudice the prospective of strategic partnership with their important partner, the Russian Federation."

While he said he doubted that the 27 EU nations would impose sanctions, he said that doing so would "be to the detriment of the EU as much, if not more, than to Russia."

Earlier Thursday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said some EU states were considering imposing sanctions when they held their emergency summit on the Georgian crisis in Brussels on Monday.

"Sanctions are being considered, and many other means," said Kouchner, whose country holds the European Union presidency.

It was the first time that Paris had raised the possibility of sanctions.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shrugged off the threat of sanctions, saying it was made "just because they're upset that the 'little pet' of certain Western capitals didn't fulfil their expectations."

Lavrov suggested the French foreign minister had a "sick imagination" after Kouchner argued Wednesday that Moscow might have designs on Ukraine, Crimea and Moldova.

Russia is facing an avalanche of condemnation from the West over its decision to recognise the independence of two Georgian secessionist regions at the heart of the conflict that erupted in the ex-Soviet republic this month.

Moscow has reacted angrily to Western criticism, saying it failed to recognise that Moscow used military force only in response to a Georgian attack against South Ossetia, where tens of thousands of Russian citizens live.

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