U.S. Official: Russia Could Do More to Resolve Conflicts
U.S. official has called on Russia “to take advantage of Georgia’s proposals for a peaceful settlement of the South Ossetian conflict and work towards a solution that respects both Georgia’s territorial integrity and the interests of the people of South Ossetia.”
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried said in his testimony before the House International Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats on March 8, that “the Russian Federation could do more to help to resolve the conflicts” both in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“The United States is also working hard to promote a peaceful resolution to the separatist conflicts in Georgia. The Georgian Government has developed a peace plan for South Ossetia, supported by the international community, and is beginning to implement unilateral steps to demilitarize the region. We support this effort with our friends in the OSCE and will continue to encourage progress in negotiations,” Daniel Fried said.
He said that the United States does not “shy from the areas of disagreement” with Russia.
“U.S. relations with Russia’s neighbors and other countries in Eurasia seem to be viewed by some in Russia in zero-sum terms, a model that we have both publicly and privately told the Russians is false. We seek to work with Russia and others to resolve dangerous and debilitating conflicts in places like South Ossetia, Transnistria, Abkhazia, and Nagorno-Karabakh,” the U.S. official stated.
In respect of Abkhazia he said that as a member of the UN Secretary General’s Group of Friends the United States participates in negotiations on a peaceful settlement of this conflict.
