ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE

NINTH MEETING OF THE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL

DECISION No. 2 STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL (MC(9).DEC/2)

Bucharest, 3 and 4 December 2001

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1. We express our firm commitment to support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and reaffirm previous OSCE Summit and Ministerial Council documents regarding Georgia.

2. We welcome developments in the peace process in Tshkhinvali region/South Ossetia. We express appreciation for the efforts of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the OSCE Mission to Georgia, the European Commission and particularly the Russian Federation, which have resulted in tangible steps forward, including practical steps to reduce the quantities of small arms and light weapons in this region, and agreement on a schedule of future meetings of the Joint Control Commission and of experts. We welcome the financial assistance provided by the European Union. We welcome the signing of the Georgian-Russian Agreement on the economic rehabilitation. We look forward to further progress in 2002, building on the greater understanding between the parties particularly on defining the political status of Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia within the Georgian State.

3. We reconfirm the leading role of the United Nations in Abkhazia, Georgia and the importance of the Geneva process as the main framework of negotiations. We condemn the shooting down of a UNOMIG helicopter on 11 October and urge the honest fulfilment of all agreements, including, inter alia, the Moscow Cease-fire Agreement of 14 May 1994. We call for the resumption of a constructive dialogue aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement, including defining the political status of Abkhazia as a sovereign entity within the state of Georgia. We remain concerned about human rights situation in Abkhazia, Georgia. We are convinced of the need to create the conditions for the safe, secure and dignified return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their previous places of permanent residence from which they have been forced to move as a result of mass destruction and forcible expulsion.

4. We acknowledge the significant contribution to stability and confidence in the region made by the OSCE Border Monitoring Operation along the border between Georgia and the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation. We direct the Permanent Council to examine proposals to extend the Border Monitoring Operation to the Georgian border with the Ingush Republic of the Russian Federation.

5. We welcome the progress made this year towards meeting the commitments made in Istanbul on the future of Russian forces in Georgia. The closure of the Russian base at Vaziani and the withdrawal of the equipment from the Russian base at Gudauta were important steps forward. We look forward to the implementation of the other Istanbul commitments. We call for the resumption of the Georgian-Russian negotiations concerning the elaboration of appropriate transparency measures with regard to the closure of the base at Gudauta. We hope for an early legal transfer of the infrastructure of the former Russian military base at Gudauta. We also look forward to an early agreement on the duration and modalities of the functioning of the remaining Russian military facilities. We welcome the contributions made by Participating States to the voluntary fund to support the withdrawal from Russian facilities, and agree to consider on an urgent basis proposals from the parties for the use of the fund.

6. We welcome the aspiration to good-neighbourly relations and development of co-operation that was manifested at the meeting between the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, on 30 November 2001, as well as the agreement to establish a joint commission to investigate the reported cases of bombardments in the border areas of the territory of Georgia.

(http://www.osce.org/mc/40515)