Czech FM: Georgia’s Territorial Integrity is Precondition to Stability in Region

Karel Schwarzenberg, the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, told the OSCE ministerial council in Helsinki that “restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia is a fundamental prerequisite for building long-term stability in Georgia and beyond.”

The Czech Republic will take over EU presidency from France in January, 2009.

“Deeds, not distracting and misleading theories of double standards and false security perceptions are required. In this sense, we call upon the Russian Federation to fully comply with the ceasefire agreement of 12 August and rescind its unilateral recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” the Czech Foreign Minister said in his address.

Russia is pushing for a new security pact based on five principles to replace the Helsinki Final Accords of 1975.

Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg said that trust in the values on which OSCE was based was the only way to enhance security in Europe. “Let us not fool ourselves that it can be done through new security designs as claimed by some whose respect for these values and principles is questionable,” he said.

He said that in August in Georgia “the most fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and those of the Helsinki Final Act have been breached in the most severe way.”

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