US Ambassador letter on minister’s speech

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze

Tuesday, June 7

In the letter Daniel Baer spoke about Russia’s aggression in Georgia, the importance of the OSCE's presence in the country and Georgia’s progress towards the EU and NATO.

Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze

The United States (US) Ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Daniel Baer dedicated a letter to Georgian Foreign Minister’s speech at OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna last week.

At the Council meeting, Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze provided analyses about the current situation in the occupied regions of Georgia and highlighted the importance of presence of international missions in and near the breakaway area of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

In the response letter of the speech drafted by Baer and released on the official webpage of the US mission to the OSCE, the American official spoke about Russia’s illegal activities on the Georgian soil, the hard situation in and near the occupied areas and the necessity of the restoration of OSCE presence in Georgia.

“Russian security services, in coordination with the de facto authorities, are committed to a policy of ‘borderisation’ along the Administrative Boundary Lines (ABL), restricting individuals’ freedom of movement, and preventing international and humanitarian organisations from fully assisting those affected by the ongoing conflict,” Baer wrote.

The US official stressed Russia’s OSCE commitments included the principles of respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty, the inviolability of frontiers, and the territorial integrity of States.

“We continue to call on Russia to fulfill its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of all its forces to pre-conflict positions and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance. Decisions on Georgia’s future should be made by the citizens of Georgia and no one else,” he said.

Baer stressed the US “would like to reiterate the need for the return of a meaningful OSCE presence to Georgia.”

In the letter, Baer also praised Georgia’s role in protecting international peace and the country’s successful progress towards the Euro-Atlantic space.

The Ambassador highlighted the importance of conducting the October parliamentary race in compliance with high-level international standards and said he “looked forward” to the upcoming OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 25th Annual Session in Tbilisi, scheduled for July 1-5.

The OSCE Permanent Council is one of the main regular decision-making bodies of the Organisation, convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.

The OSCE is comprised of 57 states and is the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organisation;

The OSCE Mission to Georgia, established in 1992, assisted the Georgian government with conflict settlement, democratization, human rights and rule of law. Russia stood against the extension of the mission at the end of 2008 after the Russia-Georgia war of that year.