BNS: 5 Lithuanian observers join EU mission in Georgia
Updated 2008-09-26
VILNIUS, Sep 25, BNS - Five officials of Lithuania's Police Department, the Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry left for Georgia to join the European Union's (EU) observation mission there. The Lithuanian team, which has received an armored vehicle from the Armed Forces, will observe and analyze the current situation in Georgia regarding the compliance to the six-paragraph agreement including the withdrawal of Russian troops, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.
Two more officials of the Police Department will work at the mission's headquarters in Tbilisi. Their tasks will include assistance in the collection and analysis of information. In cooperation with colleagues from other EU countries, the Lithuanians participating in the mission will contribute to long-term stability and trust in Georgia, as well as seek to reduce the risk of repetition of hostile actions.
The EU observation mission in Georgia was started on Sept. 15 and is due to open operations on Oct. 1. It will involve more than 200 observers from EU member-states.
According to the press release, the six-paragraph agreement reached through the diplomatic efforts of the EU on Aug. 12 remains the basis for the stabilization of the situation in Georgia. During his visit in Moscow and Tbilisi on Aug. 12, The leader of the EU's presiding country France, Nicolas Sarkozy, proposed the so-called six-principle plan envisaging the solution of the armed conflict that broke out in Georgia in the beginning of August.
Georgia and Russia have been in disagreement for over a decade with regards to control of Georgia's separatist territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia is also opposed to Georgia's NATO bid. This conflict reached its culmination in the beginning of August, at which time military actions were commenced in South Ossetia and soon extended to other regions of Georgia. South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence, however, their independence was recognized by Russia and Nicaragua only.
