Conflict Settlement, Border Monitoring Top Georgia-OSCE Relations

Salome Zourabichvili and Dimitrij Rupel.

Issues related to South Ossetian conflict resolution and border monitoring topped the agenda of OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, during his visit to Georgia on April 1. At a joint news conference Dimitrij Rupel and his Georgian counterpart Salome Zourabichvili spoke about some details of these issues.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office expressed hope that a decision would be adopted by the OSCE in the near future over a training program for Georgian border guards. While the Georgian Foreign Minister said that Tbilisi looks to both the OSCE and EU for all available options to install an international monitoring program on the Russo-Georgian border. Dimitrij Rupel also commented on South Ossetian conflict resolution issue and said that “full attention should be given” to the peace plan that was presented by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Strasbourg at the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe session. He said that the OSCE is waiting for a more detailed plan from the Georgian authorities over this region.