Sun, 01:56 14 Sep 2008 GMT17

 

EU backs Georgia peace monitoring mission
06 Sep 2008 13:33:26 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds Kouchner criticism of Russia)

AVIGNON, France, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Saturday to send "an autonomous mission" to Georgia to monitor Russia's withdrawal from territory occupied during last month's war over South Ossetia, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.

He accused Moscow of failing to respect several points in a French-brokered plan that put an end to the fighting and said French President Nicolas Sarkozy and EU officials would demand on Monday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stick to his commitments.

"Let him first respect his own signature. Of the six points, only two or let's say two-and-a-half, perhaps three, have been implemented," Kouchner told a news conference after a two-day informal meeting of EU foreign ministers.

EU observers to ensure that Russia withdrew to the lines it held on Aug. 7 before fighting erupted would initially join an existing monitoring force of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

"We expressed our support for the deployment of an autonomous ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy) mission as part of the OSCE presence in the first instance," he said.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said details of the deployment of European monitors remained to be worked out. (reporting by Francois Murphy, writing by Paul Taylor)
AlertNet news is provided by

Background information


Related articles

Breaking stories
Asia Russian plane crashes, all 87 on board feared dead

Asia Russian plane crashes, all 87 on board feared dead

AlertNet insight
Asia Georgia's displaced top 150,000, U.N. says

Aid agency news feed
World Vision Georgia continues to adapt to crisis

Blogs
Asia Media star among the suffering population of Georgia

Maps
Satellite Damage Assessment for Poti, Georgia


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-10T092135Z_01_STA01_RTRIDSP_2_RUSSIA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/STA01.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-09T132007Z_01_TBL03_RTRIDSP_2_GEORGIA-OSSETIA-FOREST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/TBL03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-09T131905Z_01_TBL02_RTRIDSP_2_GEORGIA-OSSETIA-FOREST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/TBL02.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-09T131745Z_01_TBL01_RTRIDSP_2_GEORGIA-OSSETIA-FOREST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/TBL01.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-08T170352Z_01_KHO12_RTRIDSP_2_GEORGIA-OSSETIA-COURT_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KHO12.htm

A child plays with toy cars during a protest against Russia's rising petrol prices outside the regional office of state-controlled oil company Rosneft in the southern city of Stavropol September 10, ...



URL: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L6350367.htm

For our full disclaimer and copyright information please visit http://www.alertnet.org