Bled, 31 August 2008 - Prior to the opening of the Bled Strategic Forum, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel held separate meetings with the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Baramidze, and with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Aleksandr Yakovenko. He expressed grave concern about the latest developments and stressed that conflicts should be resolved in a peaceful manner. “Military actions seriously threaten stability in the region and beyond, causing great suffering to people”, underlined Minister Rupel.

Vice Prime Minister Baramidze and Minister Rupel (Photo: BOBO)

After the two meetings, Minister Rupel told the press that he was particularly concerned about the opposing positions on establishing a buffer zone on the borders between South Ossetia and Abkhazia and Georgia; this is an issue that will need to be clearly defined also in order to avoid interfering in the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. In that context, the issue of a special EU mission discussed at the extraordinary GAERC meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 13 August in Brussels remains open.

Deputy Minister Yakovenko and Minister Rupel (Photo: BOBO)

As to the extraordinary meeting of the European Council to be held in Brussels tomorrow, Minister Rupel stressed that above all, the unity of the EU needed to be ensured. He added that the EU urged all parties concerned to comply with the agreement signed by the Russian and Georgian Presidents, Medvedev and Saakashvili on 12 August, following the mediation of European Council President Sarkozy.

Minister Rupel also mentioned that there were two proposals for international conferences. The first proposal is to organise a donor conference and Slovenia supports it because people need help. As to the proposal of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to hold a regional conference on the Caucasus, Minister Rupel assessed that Russia would take part in it as one of Georgia’s neighbours. He also reiterated that imposing sanctions against Russia would not be reasonable; it is useful, however, that the EU continues talks with Russia, including on the issue of frozen conflicts in the Caucasus.