OSCE prepared to assist further with solving conflicts in Georgia

TBILISI, 1 April 2005 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, pledged the Organization's support to promote peaceful settlements of the Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts, during talks in Tbilisi, Friday.

"Peaceful resolution of conflicts is the only path to greater stability in the region," he said after his meetings in the country's capital.

He especially underlined the need to advance the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement process:

"I urge all parties to implement the agreements reached so far, including those related to demilitarization of the zone of conflict."

The Slovenian Chairmanship, which last month hosted the first expert meeting of the 'Georgian-Ossetian Dialogue' organized under the auspices of the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies, stood ready to assist this process further, added the Minister.

The Chairman-in-Office said the OSCE fully supported United Nations efforts in resolving the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict: "We are willing to contribute, including through the opening up of a joint UN-OSCE human rights office in the Gali region of Abkhazia."

In relation to international border monitoring in Georgia, he expressed the hope that a decision would be adopted in the near future, in particular for the OSCE Training Programme for Georgian border guards.

His round of meetings in Tbilisi included Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Chairperson of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze, Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, the Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Giorgi Baramidze and the Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili.

Following his discussions, the Chairman-in-Office said the reforms undertaken by Georgia in the past year were encouraging: "I hope this process will continue with the same pace. The OSCE stands ready to continue assisting Georgia.

"The OSCE is already engaged on a range of issues and will continue to be so," said the Minister, adding, "For this reason I have appointed Mircea Geoana, former Foreign Minister of Romania and OSCE Chairman-in-Office in 2001, as my Personal Representative for Georgia."

He welcomed the work done so far to amend the country's Constitution. "I believe that additional reforms can bring positive developments in the field of the rule of law. I would like to underline my conviction that the amendments should be compatible with international standards," he said.

Touching upon the issue of police reform, Minister Rupel expressed his satisfaction with the strong political will shown to modernize and professionalize the police service: "There is still some room for even closer co-operation in this area. Reform must be efficient and its results long lasting. We are ready actively to support Georgia's efforts in this field."

After a meeting with representatives of non-governmental organizations, Minister Rupel had this to say: "Promoting the development of civil society in all participating States is one of the OSCE's priorities."