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| Around 150 unarmed observers from the OSCE monitor the most troubled 280 km section of the Russian-Georgian border. |
The OSCE Border Operation’s mandate expires in late December. However, due to Russia’s negative position towards the OSCE border monitoring mission, the issue of its extension of mandate has come under a cloud of doubt.
“The border should not remain un-monitored,” Korneli Salia told Civil Georgia on December 10.
“First of all, OSCE border monitoring is an effective means of avoiding Russia’s groundless accusations regarding the presence of Chechen rebels in Georgia. Moreover, the technical and informational support of the OSCE observers is very important for Georgian border guards, whose capacities are very limited,” Korneli Salia added.
“Unfortunately, Russia’s stance hampers the process of decision making. However, during visits to Sofia and Brussels, Salome Zourabichvili [Georgian Foreign Minister] managed to gain much support regarding the extension of the OSCE mandate,” Salia said.
He said that Russia became even more radical in its demands to cease the OSCE Border Operation after “the Georgian side demanded an extension of the OSCE [border observers’] mandate into the South Ossetian direction.”
During a session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Sofia on December 7 the United States backed Georgia’s proposal regarding the extension of the OSCE mandate.
“In Georgia, the OSCE’s Border Monitoring Operation is contributing to stability on a sensitive border, and its mandate should be extended for another year. We all need to make sure that the missions have the support and the resources necessary to do their jobs,” U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said while addressing OSCE Ministerial Council.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov went against this proposal, saying that the OSCE Border Monitoring Operation in Georgia has “already achieved its aims.”
On December 10 Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov reiterated Russia’s readiness to preemptively strike terrorist bases worldwide. Earlier on the same day, the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported quoting an unnamed source in the Russian Defense Ministry that pre-emptive strikes will involve, first and foremost, the Pankisi gorge in the north-eastern mountainous region of Georgia–near the Russian border.
“One [Russian] Minister says that the OSCE border monitoring has already achieved its aims while another [Russian] Minister speaks of strikes. We want OSCE border monitoring to avoid bombardments,” Georgian Foreign Salome Zourabichvili told Rustavi 2 television on December 10 while visiting Brussels.
Up to 150 unarmed observers from OSCE member countries conduct round-the-clock foot, air and vehicle monitoring procedures along the 280 km Daghestani, Chechen and Ingush sections of the Russian-Georgian border, in an effort to observe and report border-crossing movements.
The OSCE launched these patrols along the 82 km border between Georgia and the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation in 1999, following frequent and mutual accusations between Tbilisi and Moscow over cross-border movements of militant groups.
At the request of the Georgian government, the OSCE agreed to extend monitoring into the 58 km Ingush section of the Georgian-Russian border in December 2001. In December 2002 the OSCE decided to further extend its monitoring mission to the Daghestani section of the border.