Moscow - Diplomats from Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said they were pleased with a European Union decision not to impose sanctions on the Kremlin over Georgia.

Officials speaking to the Interfax news agency said the EU's choice at a crisis summit on Monday to ask Russia to remove troops in Georgia, rather than attempt to exert economic or political pressure, was a sign a majority of EU nations were seeking "a path of partnership" with Russia.

The moderate EU position on Georgia would assist "both sides in mutually-advantageous cooperation," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

A minority bloc of EU nations led by Britain and Poland had been calling for immediate economic sanctions on Russia as punishment, they argued, for the Kremlin's violation of a mid-August ceasefire agreement obliging Georgia and Russia to pull troops back to pre-war positions.

Russia defeated Georgia in August's Ossetia war. Russia army forces have dug in north and west Georgia, and operate some two dozen road checkpoints along roads in the region.

Europe receives some 30 per cent of its natural gas and 50 per cent of its oil from Russia.

Russia's national gas monopolist Gazprom on Monday announced it would shut down supplies for some 24 hours for "maintenance" in coming days. The switch-off was for routine technical reasons and not a pressure tactic aimed at Europe, Gazprom officials said. (dpa)