04/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The EU must clearly and unrestrainedly commit itself to avoiding escalation of tension between Russia and Georgia, said French MEP Marie Anne Isler Béguin (Greens/EFA), who heads the EP Delegation for relations with Southern Caucasus. Georgia, she states in a press release, is being sucked into a spiral where tension is such that sparks could ignite the whole Caucasus sub-region. Georgians are understandably exasperated by the constant provocation from the Russians: unannounced closure of the Russian-Georgian border, ban on wine and water exports from Georgia to Russia for health reasons, the gas crisis last winter, and now the espionage affair. “Mr Putin is throwing oil on the fire in Southern Caucasus when he should be the first to promote settlement of the so-called frozen conflicts”, she said. The international community, and the EU especially, should help to restore dialogue between the two countries in order to reactivate the peace plan, the MEP said. (hb)