OSCE: EU Statement on South Ossetia, Georgia

Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Permanent Council No. 623
7 September 2006

The European Union has learned with concern of the incident on 3 September in the South Ossetian zone of conflict in Georgia when a helicopter carrying the Minister of Defence of Georgia was shot at. There is no justification whatsoever for such action.

The EU refers to its declaration of 20 July condemning violence in all its forms and once again calls on all parties involved to refrain from any provocative actions, which risk escalating the already tense situation. We regret that calls to show restraint and promote peaceful development in the region have not been heard.

We urge once again the parties to fully comply with the commitments taken to achieve a peaceful settlement, to make use of the existing negotiating mechanisms and continue a serious political dialogue aiming at resolving the conflict peacefully.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this statement.

* Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process