U.S. Condemns ‘Rocket Attack on Georgia’
The U.S. Department of State said it condemns the August 6 “rocket attack on Georgia” and called for ?urgent clarification of the facts surrounding this incident.?
The statement issued on August 8 also praised Georgia?s ?continuing restraint in the face of this air attack? and called on all parties ?to cooperate fully with the Georgian Government’s and the OSCE’s investigation.?
At a news conference on the same day, Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, said: ?We’re still trying to get a full picture of exactly what happened. But clearly, any sort of incursion into sovereign territory is something that, you know, we would condemn.?
The State Department statement also called for an increase in OSCE monitoring operations in South Ossetia and for international monitoring of the Roki Tunnel, which links the breakaway region with neighboring North Ossetia in Russia. Georgia has been pushing for this, claiming that the tunnel is an arms trafficking and smuggling conduit.
The statement also reaffirmed the United States’ support of Georgia’s efforts ?to engage all relevant parties in defining an autonomous status for South Ossetia within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders.?
Georgia has recently set up a state commission to define the region?s status and invited Moscow and Tskhinvali to engage in it. Both sides have declined to participate.
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