Russia Opposes Sending US Monitors To Georgia - Report
MOSCOW (AFP)--Sending U.S. personnel to Georgia to complement the European
Union's ceasefire monitoring mission there would be "extremely harmful," a
Russian Foreign Ministry source was quoted as saying Tuesday.
"This idea of including U.S. monitors in the mission is extremely harmful,"
the source told Interfax news agency. "As for US-Russian relations, such a move
will certainly not improve them, but only worsen them by adding a new irritant.
"The U.S. presence will sharply raise the potential for border provocations,
given the U.S. role in last year's events," he added, apparently referring to
Russian claims that Washington helped provoke the August 2008 war in Georgia.
ITAR-TASS quoted a Ministry source as saying the idea was "completely
unacceptable."
The Foreign Ministry frequently makes its position on issues known through
unnamed sources who talk only to Russian news agencies.
The comments came a day after E.U. foreign ministers agreed to extend the
mandate of their monitoring mission by another year. The ministers will debate
whether monitors from third countries - such as the U.S., Canada and Turkey -
should join the E.U. mission when they meet again in September.
The E.U. monitoring mission, comprising more than 200 observers, was deployed
in October 2008 to monitor an E.U.-brokered ceasefire that ended the war between
Russia and Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. It is the only
remaining monitoring group in Georgia after Moscow blocked the extension of
separate missions led by the U.N. and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-28-090711ET
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