OSCE Chairman Concerned over Helicopter Incident
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, expressed concern about a Georgian MI-8 army helicopter being shot at by South Ossetian militias on September 3, forcing the aircraft to carry out an emergency landing, the OSCE press office said Monday. The helicopter was reportedly carrying Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili.
?I am relieved there were no casualties as a result of yesterday?s serious incident,? said Karel De Gucht, urging the two sides to intensify a dialogue.
?Firing at an aircraft over the area of operations of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, and flying especially low-level flights over that space, contradict the commitments of the sides to achieve a peaceful settlement,? he said.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office noted that despite agreements between the sides to avoid flights over the conflict zone there is no internationally recognized ?no-fly zone? over the region, which is technically Georgian airspace.
?Firing against aircraft can therefore only be regarded as a criminal act. Clearly such an incident demonstrates once again how fragile the situation is, and how urgent it is for the sides to show restraint and to take responsibility to intensify result-oriented dialogue,? Karel De Gucht added.
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