OSCE PA Special Representative on Border Co-operation meets Georgian Foreign Minister

COPENHAGEN, 19 December 2013 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Special Representative on Border Co-operation, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (Spain), met Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze on 18 December in Madrid for discussions that focused on the situation along the administrative boundary lines between Georgian-controlled territory and Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Sanchez Amor requested the Foreign Minister's support in arranging a visit in the coming months to the barbwire obstacles placed along the South Ossetian boundary line. The Special Representative made a brief initial visit to the boundary on 26 October, while in Georgia as part of an OSCE PA delegation sent to assess the country's presidential election.

"Another visit to the boundary line will allow me to observe the situation first-hand and learn more about the problems that the barbwire fence creates for people on both sides in their daily lives. Based on my trip, I intend to write a full progress report for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, drawing attention to this unsustainable state of affairs and reiterating my call for the barbwire to be removed," Sanchez Amor said.

Foreign Minister Panjikidze thanked the Special Representative for his initial trip to the boundary line and reiterated her country's goal of restoring its territorial integrity.

The two also discussed the political situation in Georgia and reviewed diplomatic efforts toward the reestablishment of an OSCE field mission in the country.

The Special Representative is mandated to promote co-operation in and among border regions in the OSCE area and to raise awareness regarding border-related issues. Sanchez Amor is also a member of the Spanish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as deputy head of the Spanish delegation to the OSCE PA.

This is a press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The views expressed in this press release do not necessarily reflect those of the OSCE Chairmanship, nor of all OSCE participating States.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning, Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international cooperation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.