Paris  - European Union foreign ministers are to meet early next week to discuss the crisis in South Ossetia, with the possible option of calling an emergency summit of the 27-member bloc, officials said Saturday.

A statement released by the French EU presidency said French President Nicolas Sarkozy had set as priorities the immediate cessation of hostilities, the observation of the territorial integrity of Georgia and the withdrawal of Georgian and Russian troops.

Sarkozy, who had spoken with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the fringes of the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, was also to discuss the situation "in the coming hours" with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President George W Bush, the statement said. (dpa)