CoE Hails Closure of Military Camp in S.Ossetian Conflict Zone

On April 22, Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), welcomed the Georgian government?s decision to close down its training camp for reserve forces in the village of Dzevera in the South Ossetian conflict zone, the CoE press office reported.

“This is a logical step in the wake of the peace plan for South Ossetia, proposed last January in Strasbourg by President Mikheil Saakashvili,” Terry Davis said.
 
“In my view, there is no military option for settlement of the conflict. That is why I encourage further demilitarisation and more steps to establish confidence between parties to the dispute.  Respect and mutual trust will allow both sides to view the peace plan not through the prism of past events, but as a contract for a better life for the future,” the CoE Secretary General stated.

He reiterated that all 46 member states of the CoE support Georgia?s territorial integrity.

The Georgian Defense Ministry announced on April 19 that it has closed down a training camp for the Georgian reserve forces in the village of Dzevera, which is located 12-13 kilometers away from the breakaway South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.

The reserve forces camp in Dzevera was set up last November and immediately triggered protests and concerns from the South Ossetian side. Only joint ? Georgian, Ossetian and Russian ? peacekeeping troops are authorized to be deployed in the conflict zone, according to a 1992 peace agreement. The agreement also defines the conflict zone as the territory that resides within a 15-kilometer radius from the center of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)