Georgia: Status of Issues

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We also welcome Ambassador Lacombe to the Permanent Council once again and appreciate the relatively brief, thoughtful and informative report.

The United States is also concerned over the tense situation in South Ossetia. The so-called "mobilization" of South Ossetian forces and the suggestion that Georgia's anti-criminal activities could be extended to Tskhinvali are both symptoms of and contributing factors to the overall instability. The same can be said for the mysterious overflights of the region and the debate over control of South Ossetian airspace.

We would once again urge all interested states to do their utmost to reduce tensions in the region and to encourage the parties to the conflict to work together peacefully to resolve their differences. In this regard, we are cautiously optimistic that the parties have apparently agreed to a meeting of experts in Portugal later this month and congratulate both the Mission and the Chair for their efforts to facilitate this meeting.

In the Human Dimension, I would like to thank Ambassador Lacombe for once again highlighting the problems of religious freedom in Georgia. The United States reiterates its concern over the treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelical Christians and other religious minorities in Georgia. Our specific concerns are elaborated in the recently released International Religious Freedom Report for 2002, which I will mention later under current issues.

I would like to now turn to the Border Monitoring Operation, a subject that has been on everyone's mind of late. Mr. Chairman, the United States would like to once again express its full confidence in the work of Ambassador Lacombe, General Hee and the BMO staff. We have found the enhanced reporting over the past several weeks particularly useful and commendable, and we welcome the proposals for enhancement that were discussed this week at the PrepCom and the informal PC.

If reports are accurate, Presidents Putin and Shevardnadze had a very useful private meeting on the margins of the Chisinau CIS Summit this week. We are encouraged by the two leaders' continued efforts to maintain a constructive dialogue, and we hope that all levels of government on both sides will follow this example, as I know my Russian and Georgian colleagues here are already doing.

I would like to close by once again thanking Ambassador Lacombe and his capable staff and the BMO for their continuing work.

Thank you.