Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, speaking at OSCE, draws attention to security and stability

VIENNA, 4 June 2008 - The international community should find healthy compromises to keep military monitoring officers, stabilize the situation and help sides develop a respectful dialogue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said today.

"If we want stability and a common language in the region, we need to find the right compromise which would make it possible to maintain the OSCE military monitors in South Ossetia and Georgia," Karasin told the OSCE Permanent Council.

Karasin added that the international community should "maintain an international presence in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia in order to facilitate renewed political dialogue in a new political environment".

"Stability and security in such a sensitive region can be improved with the involvement of the international community. In this sense, we consider the Geneva discussions, based on the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement, to be a useful leverage for the decision-making at the UN and the OSCE," Karasin said.

The Permanent Council is one of the OSCE's main regular decision-making bodies.