The deal brokered by the European Union for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia has been condemned by Nato’s top official as “not acceptable” because it cedes too much ground to Moscow.

As EU foreign ministers prepare to discuss on Monday the accord brokered last week by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato’s secretary-general, said the agreement provided no grounds for the revival of the Nato-Russia relationship.