Georgian Foreign Minister calls for international conference on South Ossetia

VIENNA, 18 August 2004 - Georgia's Foreign Minister, Salome Zourabichvili, called on Wednesday for an international conference on the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and said the OSCE should be fully involved in efforts to find a peaceful and lasting solution.

"The situation is complex, tense and paradoxical," she told a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, convened by the OSCE's Bulgarian Chairmanship during the summer recess to discuss the situation in the zone of conflict. "On one hand, we have an escalation of violence, but at the same time, we have an escalation of peace initiatives."

The Minister said that although there had been a clear escalation in violence in the ground, including civilian casualties, the situation was still controllable and manageable. She urged the 55 OSCE participating States to contribute to a reduction in tension and a lasting settlement.

Minister Zourabichvili also called for an increase in the number of OSCE monitors on the ground.

The Chairman of the Permanent Council, Bulgarian Ambassador Ivo Petrov, said the OSCE Chairmanship had been following the situation with concern.

Noting the Minister's proposal of an international conference, he said: "OSCE participating States will consider this suggestion carefully, but the most important thing at the moment is to get a ceasefire which holds."

Ambassador Petrov said the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, was monitoring the situation closely and was in regular contact with the Georgian leadership and with foreign ministers of other interested countries. Minister Passy has invited all parties to Sofia for high-level political dialogue.