Nato’s 26 foreign ministers are determined to present a united front on Tuesday in expressing continued support for Georgia’s ultimate membership of the western alliance and insisting that Russian troops complete a full withdrawal from Georgian territory outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Bernard Kouchner, France’s foreign minister, said that at an emergency meeting in Brussels, Nato’s foreign ministers would adopt a position of “firmness without threats” towards Russia. “It is essential that unity is preserved,” he said.