Brussels - European Union diplomats on Monday said that a peace conference on the Georgian crisis, initially scheduled for October 15, would probably have to be moved.

"The date will certainly be moved. It will be moved some days before or after - more likely after," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, noting that an EU summit had already been planned for the same day.

Last week French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as the current chairman of the EU's rotating presidency, agreed with his Russian and Georgian counterparts that the EU would chair "international talks on the modalities of security and stability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia", with the talks due to begin in Geneva on October 15.

That date coincides with the EU's regular autumn summit, in which heads of state and government are expected to debate such wide-ranging issues as financial stability, rising inflation and energy security. (dpa)