OSCE should appoint trouble-shooter to tackle crises quickly, says Chairman's special envoy

VIENNA, 6 September 2007 - The OSCE should appoint a special trouble-shooter to intervene rapidly to avoid future crises like the 6 August missile incident that raised tensions between Georgia and the Russian Federation, said Miomir Zuzul, a Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, today.

Other proposals Zuzul submitted to the Permanent Council in Vienna included a role for the OSCE to bring sides together and setting up air control communications to respond to crises.

"The mission of the OSCE is to help the parties to prevent further incidents," said Zuzul at a press conference following the session in the Permanent Council, the OSCE's main decision-making body. "We are concentrating on how to avoid further incidents and how to be prepared to react if there is a further incident."

Zuzul added that a new fact-finding mission one month after the incident would not be productive, and that all parties involved were focused on prevention.

The trouble-shooting role could be given to an appointed Special Representative at the start of each year or to the OSCE Secretary General or Director of the Vienna-based OSCE Crisis Prevention Centre, Zuzul said. The OSCE Chairmanship rotates annually between countries - Spain chairs the Organization this year and Finland will do so in 2008.

The proposals also called on the Russian Federation and Georgia to use the offices of the OSCE to continue bilateral talks, and encouraged the Permanent Council to consider strengthening the OSCE's monitoring capacities, including in air traffic control. Any decisions on the proposals would require the backing of the 56 participating States.

Zuzul was appointed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, to be his personal representative after the 6 August incident. Zuzul, a former Croatian foreign minister, visited Moscow and Tbilisi last month in this role.