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EU monitoring mission in Georgia fully deployed
An EU mission to monitor the ceasefire in Georgia is fully deployed and has met Russian forces to discuss their pullback from positions deep inside the Caucasus country, a senior EU official said on Sunday.
- Agencies
- Published: 01:18 September 30, 2008
Tbilisi: An EU mission to monitor the ceasefire in Georgia is fully deployed and has met Russian forces to discuss their pullback from positions deep inside the Caucasus country, a senior EU official said on Sunday.
Under a deal brokered by France after last month's Russia-Georgia war, Russian forces are due to withdraw from two "security zones" adjacent to breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia by October 10.
The official, who asked not to be named, said more than 300 European Union staff - civilian monitors and support - were on the ground, and had begun deploying to field offices.
"They will be ready to begin the mission in the early hours of October 1," the official said. "At a technical level we met with the Russians over the weekend."
Solana to visit
A Georgian foreign ministry source said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana would visit Tbilisi on Tuesday.
Russia sent forces over its southern border in early August to repel an offensive by Georgia, a US ally, to retake South Ossetia from pro-Moscow separatists.
Russian forces pushed into undisputed Georgian territory, drawing condemnation from the West but no sanctions.
Under the deal, the EU agreed to provide at least 200 observers to monitor the ceasefire.
The deployment of an additional 80 military monitors from the 56-nation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been blocked by disagreement with Russia over their access to South Ossetia.
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