Brussels - Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze thanked the European Union for its support Tuesday and called for closer ties with Brussels.

"What Georgia needs is to consolidate the gains we have made through tightened integration (with the EU)," Gurgenidze said after talks in Brussels with the EU's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The meeting came a day after EU leaders reached out to Georgia by promising to start negotiations on a free-trade area and on granting visa facilitation to Georgian nationals.

At their emergency summit, EU heads of state and government also threatened to suspend talks on a new partnership agreement with Russia because of its refusal to comply with the six-point peace plan.

"The free trade and the visa facilitation are indeed important pillars, although we are hoping for a comprehensive discussion on how this tightened integration (with the EU) can be achieved," Gurgenidze said.

The premier also raised his estimate on the number of Georgians needing long-term resettlement as a result of Russia's military intervention from 20,000 to 30-35,000.

Ferrero-Waldner said the European Commission and individual member states had made a total of 15 million euros (21.7 million dollars) available for humanitarian aid to Georgia. (dpa)