Tbilisi Calls on EU to Play Active Role in S.Ossetia Conflict Resolution

Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili called on the EU, while addressing European Parliamentarians in Brussels on January 25, to activate its role in the South Ossetian conflict resolution, Reuters reported.

“It’s hardly possible to overestimate the significance of the EU’s support and engagement in the … implementation of the [Tbilisi?s] peace plan,” Reuters quoted Bezhuashvili.

He also called on the EU to send a short-term assessment mission to monitor the border between Russia and breakaway South Ossetia. He said that the Roki Tunnel, which links South Ossetia with Russia?s North Ossetian Republic, is the main route for smuggling and arms trafficking in the breakaway region.

“The international community should consider the need for a new peacekeeping operation (in South Ossetia) with a view to transforming it into a truly international peacekeeping force,” he said. “We expect the issue of South Ossetia settlement to become part of the EU agenda in dialogue with Russia,” Bezhuashvili said.

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