Brussels, 20/08/2008 (Agence Europe) - After the extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on Wednesday 13 August (see EUROPE 9721 published in annex to this edition), and pending a resolution from the United Nations Security Council, the foreign ministers of the 26 NATO member nations meeting in Brussels on 19 August once more urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia. The European Parliament took a stance along the same lines after debating the issue on Wednesday 20 August (see related article).
According to the declaration published after the meeting of the North Atlantic Council (see annex), “military action must cease definitively and military forces must return to their positions held prior to the outbreak of hostilities”, that is, before the Georgian offensive in South Ossetia began on 7 August. NATO foreign minsters reaffirmed that “a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict in Georgia must be based on full respect for the principles of Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Such a position is in sharp contrast to the announcement made on Wednesday by the Council of the Russian Federation (the upper house of the Russian parliament), pointing out that it was willing to recognise the independence of South Ossetia and of Abkhazia.
Although it is hoped the six-point agreement signed at the end of last week by Moscow and Tbilissi will be rapidly implemented, the UN Security Council has not yet reached agreement on a legally binding text. On Tuesday 19 August, Russia in fact rejected a further draft resolution put forward by France, stating as its reason for doing so that the text does not specifically take up the six points of the agreement signed at the end of last week by Moscow and Tbilissi. According to a joint release published by Paris and Moscow on Tuesday evening, Russia's President Dmitri Medvedev has nonetheless told President Sarkozy that Russian troop withdrawal will be complete by 21 or 22 August, except for some 500 personnel responsible for implementing additional security measures in accordance with Article 5 of the 12 August agreement. On the ground, however, the situation is still confused and in some places the Russian military presence does not seem poised for withdrawal. (A.B./transl.jl)