New Agreement in Force
Monday, 08 September 2008
CIVIL GEORGIA
September 8, 2008
* Russian troops will leave areas outside Abkhazia, S.Ossetia within month;
* At least 200 EU monitors will be deployed in those areas;
* OSCE monitors will be able to return to Tskhinvali;
* UN observers will remain in Abkhazia;
* International discussions to start on October 15;
* Saakashvili has pledged not to use force;
French and Russian Presidents agreed after four hours talks in Moscow on September 8, that Russia will pull out its troops from the Georgian territories outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia within a month.
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, said at a joint news conference with his French counterpart, that the agreement had been made on “additional measures to implement the August 12, 2008” six-point ceasefire plan.
He read out the agreed text on the joint news conference.
* “Withdrawal of all Russian peacekeeping forces from five checkpoints on the line from Poti to Senaki within maximum of seven days, with taking into account that legally binding documents with guarantees of non-use of force against Abkhazia will be signed on September 8, 2008.”
* “Full withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping forces from the zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the lines before the launch of combat activities. This process of withdrawal will be carried out within 10 days after the international mechanism is in place no later than October 1, 2008 in those zones, involving no less than 200 EU observers, taking into account that there are legally binding documents that would guarantee non-use of forces against Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
Here Medvedev noted that the Russian side had “already received such documents.” And President Sarkozy noted during the press conference, that he had handed over to the Russian President a letter from the President Saakashvili in which Georgia was undertaking commitment not to use force.
Other provisions of the agreement, as read out by Medvedev at the news conference, are:
* “The UN monitors in Georgia will further perform their mandate in the area of their responsibility in accordance with the number and scheme of dislocation as it was before August 7, 2008 without prejudice to possible corrections in future under decision of the UN Security Council.”
UN observers were monitoring the 1994 Moscow ceasefire agreement between the Abkhaz and Georgian sides in the Abkhaz conflict zone, including in Kodori Gorge. The agreement, however, has been annulled by Tbilisi, but the September 8 agreement creates guarantees that UN Observer Mission in Georgia will continue its usual operations on the both side of the Abkhaz administrative border.
In respect of OSCE monitors, the agreement reads:
* “The OSCE monitors will further perform their mandate in the area of their responsibility in accordance with the number and scheme of dislocation as it was before August 7, 2008 without prejudice to possible corrections in future under decision of the OSCE Permanent Council.”
It means that unarmed OSCE monitors will be able to return back to their office in Tskhinvali and continue monitoring of the 15-km radios around Tskhinvali, as they did before the hostilities erupted.
The September 8 agreement also reads:
* “It is necessary to accelerate the preparation of deployment of additional monitors in the zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the strength, which will be enough for replacement of the Russian peacekeeping forces before October 1, 2008, that is at least 200 monitors from the European Union.”
* “The European Union, as a guarantor of a principle on non-use of force, is actively working over the deployment of an observation mission in addition to the already existing observation mechanisms.”
* “International discussions as envisaged by the point six of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan signed on August 12, 2008, will begin on October 15, 2008, in Geneva.”
Medvedev said that preparatory works for these discussions will be launched in September.
He specified that according to the agreement, these international discussions will be related to the following issues:
* Stability and security in the region;
* Return of refugees based on internationally recognized principles and practice of post-conflict settlement;
* Any other topic of the discussion should be included in the agenda based on mutual agreement between the sides.
“The agreement comes into force immediately, bearing that Russia has received guarantees from the EU, from France as the presidency of European Union, about the non-use of force by the Georgian side,” Medvedev said.
During the press conference, Medvedev also made it clear that Russia’s decision to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s independence was “final and irreversible.”
“I hope that the decision that was taken will be understood by more countries and other countries will also follow that example, countries which respect human rights and democratic aspirations of other peoples. I hope the number of those countries will grow,” Medvedev said.
He also added that there already was an understanding that the dialogue with Tskhinvali and Sokhumi was only possible as “with entities of the international law.”
Sarkozy said at the news conference that the major disagreement remains about the Russia’s unilateral decision to recognize the two breakaway regions.
“Not everything has been resolved today, but what has been agreed today is considerable and significant,” Sarkozy added.
“Will of the EU is to protect interests of peace,” he added.
After talks in Moscow, Sarkozy, accompanied by President of European Commission José Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, left for Tbilisi to hold talks with President Saakashvili.
Permanent link:
http://civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=19435 
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