OSCE Chair Condemns Deadly S.Ossetia Clashes
The international community is watching developments in the South Ossetian conflict zone with “mounting concern” and expects the sides “to do their utmost to de-escalate tension,” Alexander Stubb, the Finnish foreign minister, who holds the OSCE’s rotating chairmanship, said in a statement on August 2.
Six people were killed and about 22 injured as a result of intense shooting in the conflict zone late on August 1 and overnight on August 2.
“We still do not know all the details of what happened, but clearly a number of people have been killed and wounded,” Stubb said. “I deplore and condemn this needless violence, especially against civilian targets.”
The OSCE chairman-in-office has also reiterated his invitation to the sides to engage in dialogue and consultations.
The conflicting sides were offered last month a meeting in Helsinki. The South Ossetian side, however, insisted on talks only in frames of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission – a format which has been rejected by Tbilisi.
