OSCE Ready to Assist Georgia in Reforms

Visiting Tbilisi for the inauguration of the new president, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy had meetings with President Saakashvili, former Acting President Nino Burjanadze and State Minister Zurab Zhvania.

“The OSCE is already in discussions with the Georgian authorities on how we can help with some of the key challenges that lie ahead,” Minister Passy said.

“These include parliamentary reform and constitutional reform, strengthening law enforcement and fighting corruption.”

OSCE reported that Solomon Passy congratulated Georgia’s authorities and political leaders on the presidential elections, which had brought Georgia closer to meeting international democratic standards, but noted that these were just a first step.

The March 28 parliamentary elections would represent a stronger challenge to the electoral system. “There needs to be a significant improvement in a number of procedural aspects to ensure that the elections will be perceived as credible and democratic,” Minister Passy said.
 
In his discussions with Georgian leaders on the unresolved conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Minister Pass stressed the importance of maintaining Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“We regard the preservation of the territorial integrity and national unity of Georgia as an important prerequisite for the democratization of the country and stability in the South Caucasus as whole,” he added.

The Chairman-in-Office urged all parties involved to seize the opportunity created by the change of government “to resume dialogue on the problems in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Ajaria and to avoid inflammatory political rhetoric,” the OSCE reported.

During his visit to Tbilisi, the Chairman-in-Office also met the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanyan, to discuss prospects for a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh “frozen” conflict.