EU Launches August War Probe

EU has officially launched an enquiry mission into the August war, after the mission was formally endorsed by EU finance ministers on December 2, EU French presidency spokesman said, according to the French news agency AFP.

The mission, which is led by Swiss diplomat, Heidi Tagliavini, a former UN special envoy to Georgia, will involve 10 “recognised experts” including historians, military, jurists and rights experts, according to the text approved by the EU ministers, AFP reported.

It also says that the mission’s “geographical and time limits will be sufficiently broad to determine the possible causes.”

"The Russians have said that they are in favour of this sort of enquiry. We hope that will translate into effective support for the work of this mission," the French EU presidency spokesman said.

The mission will have eight months to complete its work, with conclusions to be presented to EU, OSCE, Georgia and Russia on July 31, 2009; but the mission could be extended beyond that deadline if necessary.

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