12:00, 25 July 2009

EU observers' mandate in Georgia extended for a year

The mandate of the European Union mission of observers (EUOM) in Georgia has been extended for one year, the appropriate decision has been made at the EU ministerial in Brussels.

Carl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden chairing the EU notes that "the extension of the mission is a serious sign of the fact that the EU is interested in playing an active role in settling the situation in the region and implementing the agreement on ceasefire ".

According to the Swedish MoFA, the European Union does not rule out the participation of American observers after the extension of the mission in Georgia, reports "Georgia Online".

Bildt thinks that the issue must be resolved step-by-step: first to extend the mission powers and then to define its composition, notes "Gazeta.Ru".