Georgian Deputy Minister Speaks Russia’s ‘Unconstructive’ Position at OSCE

In an interview with the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Georgian service, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Giorgi Gomiashvili spoke about the Russia’s “unconstructive” position over planned OSCE-led training of the Georgian border guards.

“Training program of the Georgian border guard in frames of OSCE may be thwarted, because of the reasons similar to those, which led to halting of the OSCE Border Monitoring Operation (BMO) [which was ceased on Russo-Georgian border because of Russia’s veto],” Deputy Foreign Minister Giorgi Gomiashvili said.

He said that Russia offered OSCE and Georgia to hold training program of the Georgian border guards not at the venues located near the Russo-Georgian border, as insisted by Georgia, but in the cities, “far away from the mountains.”

“Russia also offers only limited use of those equipments, which was available for the BMO, during the training of the Georgian border guards,” Giorgi Gomiashvili added.

The Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister pushed the issue at the OSCE Permanent Council session in Vienna on March 10. In his address to the Permanent Council Giorgi Gomiashvili outlined Georgia’s position regarding the training of border guards. This position includes following demands:

1. Ensuring that training of Georgian Border guards takes place on the spot, i.e. – in the mountains;
2. Ensuring that the training is carried out with all corresponding – former OSCE BMO attire and equipment;
3. Ensuring that the training starts no later than April 1, 2005

In an interview with the RFE/RL Georgian service, Giorgi Gomiashvili also said that this particular example with the training program of the Georgian border guards demonstrates “weakness of those international organizations, whose member is Russia and where each member state has a right of veto.”

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