More military monitoring officers

On 19 August 2008 the Permanent Council of the OSCE adopted the decision on increasing the number of Military Monitoring Officers in the OSCE Mission to Georgia by up to one hundred. The OSCE Member States have decided that 20 MMOs will be deployed immediately in the areas adjacent to South Ossetia. As regards to the rest of the additional MMOs, the modalities for their deployment are to be proposed by the OSCE Chairmanship, Finland without delay.

By deployment of additional OSCE Military Monitoring Officers in Georgia, the international mechanism is starting to operate, as stipulated by the cease-fire accord signed by the Georgian and Russian sides under the mediation of the President of France. According to paragraph 5 of the accord, "while awaiting an international mechanism, the Russian forces will implement additional security measures” in the conflict zone.

Furthermore, the deployment of the OSCE Military Monitoring Officers in Georgia implies that the Russian Federation, first of all, must withdraw unconditionally and without delay all its military forces from Georgia, and in parallel to this, immediately stop implementing aforementioned "additional security measures” carried out by so called peacekeepers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia would like to underline the active input and leading role of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, without which it would be impossible to reach consensus on such decision. The Georgian side expresses its hope that the Russian Federation will comply with its obligations in good faith and abstain from impeding further decisions, essential for meeting all obligations under the cease-fire accord.