Brussels - When the leaders of Russia and the European Union meet in the French resort of Nice on Friday, they are more likely to talk about the current financial crisis than the crisis in their own relationship sparked by Russia's war with Georgia, diplomats say.

"It's fair to guess that Georgia won't be the focus of the French presidency at the summit. They will definitely cover it, but it won't be the number one issue," an EU diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The meeting, to be hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, and attended by his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, comes two months after EU leaders condemned Russia's recognition of two breakaway Georgian regions as "unacceptable" and demanded in vain for it to be reversed.

At the time, the leaders said that EU-Russia relations had "reached a crossroads." As late as November 5, the EU's executive, the European Commission, wrote that the conflict had "cast a serious shadow" over EU-Russian relations.

But Friday's summit also comes just 24 hours before the leaders of the world's 20 greatest powers - including both the French and Russian presidents - meet in Washington to discuss the reform of the world's financial system.

And given that Sarkozy was the first to call for such a summit, and has since conducted frantic diplomacy to get EU backing for his plans for global reform, diplomats say the Georgian conflict is simply not the focus of Friday's talks.

"Would you rather talk about your triumph, or something as tricky as Georgia?" one EU official asked rhetorically.

Officially, the summit is set to deal with three main themes: general EU-Russia relations, the financial crisis, and international affairs, in that order.

Its keynote result is expected to be the announcement of a timetable for talks on the so-called "New EU-Russia Agreement" - talks which the EU froze in protest at Russia's occupation of Georgia, but which it decided on Monday to re-start.

Medvedev is also widely tipped to spend time outlining his own proposals for a "new Euro-Atlantic security architecture," an as-yet vague concept which he first mentioned in June.

And speculation is growing in Brussels that Sarkozy will push for Russian endorsement of a set of four key principles of financial reform which EU leaders approved at a summit on Friday in Brussels.

With such a packed agenda, diplomats point out that both Sarkozy and Medvedev will have just over three hours in Nice before they board their respective flights to Washington - raising the question of how effectively they will be able to cover all the issues.

There is a "real risk" that the Georgian conflict will be pushed to the bottom of the agenda, the EU official said.

Indeed, diplomats in Brussels say that both presidents have an interest in avoiding a row over Georgia.

Sarkozy personally brokered the deal between Russia and Georgia which ended the fighting on August 12 - making him reluctant to make any statements which would imply that his diplomacy had not worked.

And Medvedev has been at pains to play down Europe's anger at the war, making it unlikely that he would stress the issue himself.

That being the case, observers predict that, while the Georgia question will have to be raised, it will be done discreetly.

"They really want to announce that talks on the new deal will continue. They won't turn the spotlight on Georgia," a diplomat from one new EU member state said. (dpa)