Brussels- More than 300 European Union observers are already in Georgia and ready to begin monitoring the "swift withdrawal" of Russian forces, EU officials said Monday.

"We are extremely pleased with the response from member states and with the preparations" leading up to the launch of the mission, foreseen for Wednesday, said Cristina Gallach, the spokeswoman of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"We want to monitor the swift withdrawal of the Russian troops from where they are now" and ensure that the Georgian police is allowed back into Georgian villages, Gallach added.

New York - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Saturday told the UN General Assembly that the European security infrastructure had failed in "recent events" and called for a new Europe-wide security treaty.

Lavrov said that in the conflict in the Caucasus, the "existing architecture of security in Europe did not pass the strength test in recent events."

Brussels - A donors' conference dedicated to rebuilding Georgia's civilian infrastructure after August's war with Russia is set to open in Brussels on October 21 or 22, Belgian officials confirmed Thursday.

The one-day conference, which was proposed by European Union heads of state and government at an emergency summit on September 1, is intended to gather aid pledges from the international community, Belgian Foreign Ministry officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The announcement of the conference comes 10 days after the European Commission, the EU's executive, pledged a package of 500 million euros (733.7 million dollars) in aid for the post-war reconstruction and economic recovery of Georgia.

New York - As world leaders gathered for an annual series of speeches, meetings and action this week at the United Nations, there was a new conflict that pierced the organization's usually stuffy diplomatic air.

There were no official UN meetings this week dealing with last month's war between Russia and Georgia. But the conflict was a regular topic of leaders from around the world who took turns this week addressing the UN General Assembly in New York.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called on the UN to condemn Russia's "brutal invasion" and help implement a ceasefire. His tough words were backed up by the heads of other states from the region.

Paris  - The European Union plans to send more than 300 observers to Georgia, substantially more than had been foreseen, a French foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

Asked during an electronic press conference about media reports that the mission could comprise 340 observers, instead of the 200 originally called for, Frederic Bouillon said, "We confirm that the EU observation mission in Georgia could comprise 300 observers, to which must be added the logistical support personnel."