THE PRESIDENT:  I'm deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia.  The United States takes this matter very seriously.

The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia.  They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis.  The violence is endangering regional peace.  Civilian lives have been lost, and others are endangered.

This situation can be resolved peacefully.  We've been in contact with leaders in both Georgia and Russia at all levels of government.  Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected.  We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops.  We call for an end to the Russian bombings, and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th.

The United States is working with our European partners to launch international mediation, and with the parties to restart their dialogue.  Russia needs to support these efforts so that peace can be restored as quickly as possible.

Laura and I were also saddened by the attack on an American family and their Chinese tour guide today in Beijing.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.  And the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs.

Thank you very much.

“I am very concerned about reports of hundreds of people having been killed in Georgia. I urge everyone to stop the shooting and stop the bombing and get round a conference table. A total ceasefire is the only way to stop the killing.”

“As Secretary General of the Council of Europe, I remind both Georgia and the Russian Federation that, as members of the Council of Europe, they have committed themselves to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, both internal and international.”

The Deputy Secretary called in Russian Charge d’Affaires Darchiyev today to press Moscow to cease military operations in Georgia.  The Deputy Secretary said that we deplore today’s Russian attacks by strategic bombers and missiles, which are threatening civilian lives throughout Georgia.  These attacks mark a dangerous and disproportionate escalation of tension.

The U.S. calls for an end to these bombings, an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian ground combat forces from Georgia, and return to the status quo of August 6.

We underscore the international community’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as articulated in numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions, including most recently UNSCR 1808 in April 2008.

The United States calls for an immediate ceasefire to the armed conflict in Georgia’s region of South Ossetia.  We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia’s territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil.

Senior U.S. officials and I have spoken with the parties and continue to work with them to seek an end to hostilities.  The United States is working actively with its European partners to launch international mediation.  We urgently seek Russia’s support of these efforts. 

We underscore the international community’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as articulated in numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions, including most recently UNSCR 1808 in April 2008.

·         First we call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to hostilities by all sides.

·         We call for talks between the Georgians and Ossetians.

Government of Georgia has not deployed any additional armed formations in above-mentioned region. UN military Observer’s Mission can prove this. We declare that statements of these kinds and the used language of ultimatums are aimed at drawing Georgia into armed confrontation and military actions.

It is outrageous that Russians use Abkhaz and Ossetians as bait in this aventure. De-facto leaders of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region should understand that Russia attempts to use them as pawns in Russian geopolitical games. Recent steps of Russia, especially in last few days, are the prominent examples.

We believe it to be immoral to manipulate with the destiny of small nations.

Therefore, we declare that Georgia will not get involved into these provocations and military aventure. We call on International Organizations, especially UN Military Observer’s Mission, to declare their positions openly and carry out responsibilities granted to them for the purpose of avoiding armed conflict. 

Despite the disturbances caused by Russian actions in the conflict regions, Government of Georgia stays loyal to the new peace initiatives voiced by President Saakashvili. I am ready to go to Sokhumi and explain the essence of the peace initiatives to local de facto leaders. I, once more, express the readiness to meet with Mr. Kokoity in order to discuss details of organizing Mr. Kokoity’s meeting with President Saakashvili.

Future of Abkhaz and Ossetian ethnos, future of our citizens is not insignificant for us. Thus, Government of Georgia will do its best to make sure they do not become instruments for political manipulations and they will ascertain their guaranteed place within the united Georgia.

We declare unambiguously that comprehensive joint monitoring with participation of the Georgian law enforcement bodies and the OSCE Observers has not been conducted. Nor have the Georgian Military Observers of the military personnel and OSCE officers confirmed the so-called “monitoring results.”   

Such statements are endeavored to purposefully distort, twist the facts and to accuse the Georgian side without any grounds and evidence. At the same time, general Kulakhmetov says nothing about illegality of the Ossetian post in village Okona and tries to present it as alleged “South Ossetian law enforcement post”.       

The extreme politicization of monitoring procedures and results, as well as manipulation of ungrounded information by general Kulakhmetov is absolutely inadmissible for us.

We definitely insist on general Kulakhmetov and on the Joint Peacekeeping Forces Headquarters (JPKF) to immediately put an end to spreading the biased information about details of incident happened, since it contributes to destabilization of the situation.  

All these serve one and the only goal: blackmail, influence and threaten the people to give in and accept the chaos legitimated by the de facto regime. Such actions once more shows the criminal and irresponsible essence of the de facto regime of Tskhinvali, which aims at maintaining control over the local population.

Yesterday, March 13^th, Temur Iakobashvili made appearance in front of the representatives of OSCE member states in Vienna. He made a special statement where he suggested OSCE and the international community as a whole to denounce these facts and apply effective measures for preventing them in the future.

The office of Georgia’s State Minister for Reintegration Issues considers it inadmissible to have the fundamental rights and personal security of the peaceful Ossetian population violated by the Tskhinvali de facto regime.

Once more we declare that the Government of Georgia will react adequately on the crimes committed by the Kokoity regime against peaceful population.

New proposals of the Georgian side regarding South Ossetia and Joint Control Commission were discussed at the meeting together with other issues existing in the region in general. The State Minister informed the OSCE Secretary General about plans to be implemented regarding the conflict regions and new visions of positions related to these issues. It was emphasized that obstinacy of one side cannot be the reason for hindering the economic and other projects.

It was said that the Georgian side will continue implementation of ongoing projects in the region. Besides, it plans to submit and carry out new projects, among them on the territory controlled by Kokoity.

Mr. Brichambaut showed much interest towards the proposals of the Georgian side. He had many specific questions concerning the current issues and the situation in the conflict region. The meeting was held in a very informal environment and lasted longer than planned.

Together with the Georgia’s State Minister for Reintegration Issues, the meeting was also attended by Victor Dolidze, Ambassador of Georgia to OSCE, and Terhi Hakala, head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia.

Moreover, if M. Tkhostov, co-chair from the North Ossetian side, who is the citizen of Russia and representative of the executive branch of Russia, came to the meeting of March 6 in Tskhinvali through Roki Tunnel, he should be understanding that he has illegally crossed the Georgian-Russian state border. Pursuant to the Georgian legislature, such actions are punishable by the law.

We openly declare that no joint monitoring of JPKF and OSCE observers was ever carried out.

The Ossetian side did not let Georgian and OSCE observers participate in the monitoring. Moreover, OSCE observer sustained physical abuse and the life of Georgian observer would have been threatened if General M. Kulakhmetov, Commander of JPKF had not interfered personally.

Based on our information, Russian peacekeepers did some works at the place of explosion, though this cannot be considered a valuable monitoring in the absence of the Georgian side and OSCE observers.

We request that the JPKF headquarters stop spreading biased information in regards to the details of the explosion.

The Georgian delegation was led by Temuri Yakobashvili, State Minister for Reintegration, and the Abkhazian side was represented by Sergei Shamba, de-facto Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting, which was held on the background of declaration of independence of Kosovo and its subsequent processes, was dedicated to finding ways to take the process of complete resolution of the conflict out of stagnation.

Whole series of activities, within the peace process, that are aimed at confidence building were discussed. It was pointed out that it is necessary to restore direct linkages and to pursue continuous dialogue that will facilitate peaceful political settlement of the conflict.

Possibilities of broadening the contacts were deliberated at the meeting of Georgian and Abkhaz representatives. Namely, new proposals of the Georgian side were voiced in the direction of developing the media space and economic linkages.

Constructive position of the representatives of Russia towards the current situation is noteworthy.

As the result of the meeting, a statement of the chairperson was produced that reflected the positions stated by the sides, also the opinions and proposals of the Group of Friends in regards to the confidence building among the parties. Special emphasis was laid on the urgent necessity of creating the relevant conditions for return of IDPs. 

It was clearly pointed out that the Group intends to get involved more actively in the process of negotiations.

 In reference to the announcement made yesterday by Mr. Yuri Popov, co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission (JCC), we point out that our position regarding the Joint Control Commission has not changed. Achieving real progress in the JCC format depends on the implementation of priorities identified by the Georgian side on October 21-22 of the last year at the sitting of the Joint Control Commission in Tbilisi, and which was also reviewed at the OSCE Foreign Ministers' Summit in Madrid in November, 2007.

These priorities include: performance of obligations by JPKF, first of all – complete demilitarization of the region, prevention of entrance of ammunitions and ‘volunteers’ through uncontrolled ways from the north, complete elimination of illegal armed formations, full involvement all political forces of the region’s in the ongoing processes; these are the priorities, performance of which can bring tangible results in the format of JCC.

Readiness for making particular decisions regarding the immediate fulfillment of these very priorities will make it possible to continue working in the format of JCC, whether it is a consultation or other kinds of meetings.