OSCE brokers funds to help rehabilitate the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict

TBILISI, 2 February 2004 - Several new projects to help in rehabilitating the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone will be financed under a 2.5 million euros grant from the European Commission brokered by the OSCE Mission to Georgia.

The parties to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict signed in Tskhinvali on 31 January a Memorandum of Understanding on rehabilitation projects in the zone of conflict.

Some of the projects will focus on the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure to benefit both the resident population and returnees; others will support the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced people to their previous places of residence.

"This decision creates a wider opportunity for improvement of the mutual understanding and strengthening of confidence between the formerly conflicting Georgian and South Ossetian sides," said Malkhaz Kakabadze, Georgian Minister for Special Affairs.

His counterpart in the peace talks, representing the South Ossetian side, Boris Chochiev, praised the involvement of the international community in the creation of conditions for restoring peace in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and thanked the OSCE for attracting attention of the European Commission and other international donors to the needs of the people from the region.

"The OSCE Mission to Georgia believes that the implementation of these projects will make an important contribution to the overall peace settlement process," said Ambassador Roy Reeve, Head of Mission. "It is a major step in our work towards the achievement of the ultimate OSCE goal: the peaceful, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict".

The projects will be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and will involve Georgian and Ossetian experts.