EU, NATO, OSCE Welcome Russo-Georgian Deal on Bases

The European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel welcomed on May 31 a joint declaration by Russian and Georgian Foreign Ministers in which Moscow pledged to complete the withdrawal of military bases from Georgia in the course of 2008.

?The EU looks forward to the signing of an overall agreement between the parties,? EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana?s statement reads.

?In taking steps to resolve this longstanding dispute, the two sides have developed their cooperative relations based upon mutual respect and implementation of multilateral commitments, and advanced security in the Caucasus region,? NATO Secretary General Scheffer said.

“This declaration marks significant progress in the talks between the two States on this and other vital issues on their bilateral agenda and establishes a constructive basis for the enhancement of good-neighbourly relations,” OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel said.

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