USE OF FORCE MUST BE CATEGORICALLY EXCLUDED FROM SOLUTION OF FROZEN CONFLICTS: PACE PRESIDENT

arminfo
2007-07-09 13:06:00

The use of force must be categorically excluded from the solution of
frozen conflicts, says PACE President following his visit to Georgia.

As the press-service of CE Headquarters told ArmInfo, Rene van der
Linden, who arrived in Georgia within the frames of regional visit,
said: "The solution of frozen conflicts is crucial for the future
development of the South Caucasus region – but this solution must be
achieved uniquely through peaceful means".

During his visit, the PACE President met the President of Georgia,
parliamentarians, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs
and NGO representatives. On 7 July, he also visited South Ossetia.

Underlining the Assembly’s position that the solution to the conflicts
in Georgia must respect the principle of territorial integrity, Mr
van der Linden called on all parties to engage in a serious political
dialogue in order to achieve progress. The first pre-condition for
the success of this dialogue is to stop all military confrontations
and provocations and to calm current tensions, he added.

During his meetings, the PACE President expressed his appreciation for
the progress achieved on democratic reforms in Georgia and stressed
that Council of Europe expertise and instruments have been extremely
useful in this process. The Assembly’s monitoring procedure is
providing precious assistance and guidance to the Georgian authorities
in their efforts to achieve further progress on their obligations and
commitments to the Council of Europe, in particular with regard to
checks and balances in the political system, election legislation,
independence of the media and the justice system, and the fight
against corruption.

The PACE President will continue his tour of the South Caucasus region
with a visit to Azerbaijan on 8-9 July 2007.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress