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PP RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR
DE RUEHC #3165/01 1191253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 291234Z APR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 9888
INFO ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 043165 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GG MO OSCE PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: RESPONSE TO SPECIAL 
REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPOULOS 
 
 ¶1. Post is authorized to make the following statement at the 
April 30 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna: 
 
Begin text: 
 
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 
 
It is a pleasure to welcome you to today,s meeting, 
Ambassador Christopoulos.  We appreciate your ongoing efforts 
to facilitate long-term, peaceful resolutions to the 
protracted conflicts in Georgia and Moldova, and thank you 
for your informative report today. 
 
The United States particularly appreciates your efforts ) 
and those of EU Special Representative Morel and UN Special 
Representative Verbeke ) to coordinate the Geneva 
discussions on security and stability arrangements in the 
South Ossetian and Abkhaz regions of Georgia.  We welcome the 
decision to hold the next round of Geneva discussions on May 
18 and 19, and hope they will contribute positively to 
reducing tensions in the region and to furthering 
implementation of the August 12 and September 8 agreements. 
In particular, we look forward to concrete progress being 
made on the urgent problem of achieving the free and 
unhindered flow of humanitarian access to the South Ossetian 
region of Georgia. 
 
We also look forward to the good-faith implementation of the 
incident prevention and response mechanisms agreed in Geneva. 
 We welcome the incremental progress made at the April 23 
meeting of the mechanism for the South Ossetian region, and 
expect to see discussion of concrete incidents, including the 
repeated killings of Georgian police officers and the 
detentions by South Ossetian de facto authorities of OSCE 
military monitoring officers. 
 
We strongly urge all parties to meet regularly with 
international monitors to address continuing security 
incidents and prevent them from escalating into wider 
conflicts.  We also call on all parties to allow for joint 
visits, together with international monitors, to the sites of 
incidents.  We urge all parties to make these mechanisms 
fully operational as soon as possible. 
 
Access for international monitors to the South Ossetian and 
Abkhaz regions of Georgia remains critical.  Together with 
international monitors, the incident prevention and response 
mechanisms can help deter violence, ensure the safety and 
protection of civilians, promote human rights, and further 
the implementation of the August 12 and September 8 
agreements.  We repeat our call for Russia to ensure respect 
for human rights is upheld and international humanitarian law 
is observed in those areas of Georgia controlled by Russian 
military forces. 
 
Like other delegations, the United States continues to 
believe a robust OSCE presence can play a critical role in 
restoring stability in Georgia.  We believe the 
Chairmanship,s April 8 draft decision on an Office in 
Tbilisi and an OSCE monitoring operation provides a good 
basis for agreement, precisely because it skillfully avoids 
the divisive issues of status and focuses on practical 
arrangements that would allow the OSCE to support the Geneva 
process and contribute positively to conflict resolution 
efforts.  We urge all delegations to work with the 
Chairmanship in a spirit of good will and collaboration to 
reach swift agreement on the basis of this proposal, and to 
refrain from reinserting contentious issues that prejudge 
status disputes. 
 
The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful 
resolution to the conflicts in Georgia, and will continue to 
support Georgia,s sovereignty, independence, and territorial 
integrity within its internationally recognized borders. 
 
The United States likewise remains committed to the 
long-term, peaceful resolution of the Transnistria conflict 
in Moldova.  We commend your efforts, Ambassador 
Christopoulos, to work with the OSCE Mission to Moldova to 
encourage direct contacts between the Sides and to facilitate 
working groups, efforts to identify confidence-building 
measures. 
 
We continue to urge the quick resumption of formal 
negotiations in the 5 2 format, which remains the only 
internationally accepted mechanism for reaching a negotiated 
settlement to the conflict.  We hope these talks will focus 
 
STATE 00043165  002 OF 002 
 
 
on substantive issues, including the determination of 
Transnistria,s status within Moldova,s internationally 
recognized borders and the presence of foreign forces in 
Moldova without host nation consent. 
 
Madame Chairwoman, there is a lot of discussion these days 
about taking a renewed look at European Security 
Architecture.  As Ambassador Christopoulos,s excellent 
report amply demonstrates, if we can,t address and resolve 
these persistent and outstanding conflicts we will be 
unlikely to make any genuine headway on a Europe that is more 
secure and at peace.  Progress on these conflicts, including 
on the current issues I have just outlined, would help 
restore trust and confidence and facilitate any discussion of 
European security. 
 
Ambassador Christopoulos, thank you again for speaking to us 
today.  We wish you all the best in your work. 
 
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 
CLINTON