Georgia’s Hope for Increased EU Role in Conflict Resolution ‘Unrealistic’

Georgia’s expectations for an enhancement of the EU’s role in resolving the South Ossetian conflict “may be unrealistically high,” Finnish Europe Minister Paula Lehtomaeki said on October 25, RFE/RL reported.

Speaking in Strasbourg on a behalf of the current EU Presidency during the European Parliament debate about South Ossetia and Transdnestria, Paula Lehtomaeki called on the Georgian authorities “to have patience.”

“There are discussions going on currently within the EU about strengthening the EU’s role, but Georgia’s expectations may be unrealistically high… The EU urges the Georgian leadership to have patience. Quick decisions, too-quick decisions with regard to the South Ossetian and Abkhazian peace processes must be avoided, as they could endanger the presence of the UN and the OSCE in the region,” Lehtomaeki said. She added that rash actions could lead to a dangerous vacuum in the conflict zones.

But unlike Georgia’s conflicts, the EU’s role in the Transdnestrian peace process will remain strong, according to the RFE/RL.

The Brussels-based EUobserver.com reported that European parliamentarians are expected to vote on October 26 on a draft resolution criticizing Russia’s policy towards Georgia and Moldova and calling for UN and EU to send peacekeepers in South Ossetia.

Georgia will most likely be on the agenda of the EU-Russian Foreign Ministers’ meeting on November 3, as well as at the EU-Russian summit on November 24.

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