Saakashvili Meets EU Envoys

President Mikheil Saakashvili held talks with the Ambassadors of the European Union member countries accredited in Georgia on February 19.

State Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Issues Giorgi Baramidze, who also attended talks, told reporters that President Saakashvili is urging the EU to help in monitoring the Russo-Georgian border.

The OSCE Border Monitoring Operation on the Chechen, Ingush and Daghestani sections of the Russo-Georgian border was suspended after the Russian side vetoed discussions on prolonging the operation?s mandate in late December.

?15 million euros, which is the annual budget of this operation, could be much better spent on other projects in Georgia, including training of Georgian border guards,? Sergey Lavrov said during his visit to Georgia on February 18.

?The presence of international observers with real mechanisms and a mandate to monitor the border is of vital importance for us,? State Minister Giorgi Baramidze said after talks with the EU envoys.