Russian Peacekeeper Commander Speaks-out Against Increased OSCE Role

Commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces (JPKF) in South Ossetia, Russian Major-General Marat Kulakhmetov spoke-out against an increased role for the OSCE in the conflict area.

In an interview with the Russian news agency Regnum, Kulakhmetov stated that OSCE observers are “present at daily consultations at the headquarters of JPKF.” He aslo said that he understands “that the OSCE mission would like to be more involved in this process. I am categorically against substituting the peacekeeping mission with the Mission of OSCE. These trends exist and they become more and more apparent.”

When asked to present arguments to support his negative position, Kulakhmetov said that “it was not the OSCE Mission that stopped bloodshed in the zone of conflict and it was not the OSCE Mission that has kept peace here for more than 12 years.”

The Russian peacekeeping commander also said that both the South Ossetian and Georgian sides have unauthorized, non-peacekeeping troops in the conflict zone. ?This is a source of tension. Actually, overnight shootouts occur on daily bases,? he added.

Major-General Marat Kulakhmetov said that the Georgian side has already provided the JPKF with a list of those Georgian servicemen who are members of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion stationed in the conflict zone.

?This will help us to reveal unauthorized armed groups in the conflict zone,? he added.