OSCE Chairman-in-Office Concerned over S.Ossetia

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, expressed concern regarding the news of the arrest of a South Ossetian police officer by Georgian military police and the detention of three Georgian police and nine civilians by South Ossetian authorities, the OSCE press office reported on December 6.

He welcomed the subsequent release of the Georgian civilians but expressed the wish that all sides help lower tensions as rapidly as possible and freedom of movement be restored.

Rupel was speaking after a meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili on the sideline of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Ljubljana on December 6.

?I am concerned about this unhelpful escalation in tension in the Georgian-Ossetian zone of conflict, following the tit-for-tat exchange of arrests, stemming from the continued insecurity,? the OSCE Chairman-in-Office said.

?We need to be able to move ahead in a positive way and recommence the Economic Needs Assessment Study in the zone of conflict, involving international, Georgian and South Ossetian experts as rapidly as possible.?

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