BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - European Union leaders seeking to punish Russia for invading Georgia face limited options and are likely to choose diplomatic pressure to isolate Moscow at their summit today.

Sanctions appear remote -- not least because western Europe depends on Russia's energy supplies. But the 27 European leaders are expected to offer more humanitarian, economic and moral support for Georgia and signal that normal relations with Moscow are impossible with Russian troops violating a cease-fire agreement.

French and Belgian officials have also said that EU leaders may name a special envoy to Georgia to ensure that the cease-fire is observed. They said the EU might send a high official -- perhaps French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- on a mission to the region.

"Russia's commitment to a relationship of understanding and cooperation with the rest of Europe is in doubt," Sarkozy, who is leading the summit, wrote in a pre-summit letter to the EU leaders.

"It's up to Russia today to make a fundamental choice" and to engage neighbors and partners in settling disputes peacefully, Sarkozy wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

Sarkozy, whose country now holds the EU presidency, wrote that the leaders must "seriously examine relations between the European Union and Russia," adding that he counted on a "clear and united message."

Russia's president said Sunday that his country will give military aid to the two separatist regions at the center of the war with Georgia -- signaling that Moscow has no intention of backing down in the face of Western pressure. Dmitry Medvedev also warned that U.S. domination of world affairs is unacceptable, though he insisted that Russia does not want hostile relations with the United States and other Western nations.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said the EU summit is a sign of a strong global support for Georgia. "Russia today has found itself more isolated than the Soviet Union ever was," he said in a televised statement.

On Sunday, Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze asked the EU and the U.S. to impose sanctions on companies and individuals doing business in its breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia without its permission.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, speaking to Russian television Sunday, cautioned European nations against sharing the tough U.S. policy on Russia and "serving someone else's political interests."

Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia on Aug. 7, hoping to retake a province that has had de-facto independence since the early 1990s.

Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed into Georgia. Sarkozy crafted a cease-fire deal in mid-August, but Russia has ignored its requirement for all forces to return to prewar positions.

Sarkozy said that the EU must insist Russian troops leave Georgia and be ready "to assume a presence on the ground in support of all efforts toward a peaceful and lasting solution to conflicts in Georgia." He did not elaborate.

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