国际英语新闻：EU favors int'l probe into Georgia crisis, deployment of observers

AVIGNON, France, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) foreign ministers have agreed that there is a need for an international investigation into the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia and the deployment of an EU observer mission to monitor the implementation of a peace deal.

    "We all stressed that there is a need for an international investigation as to how the crisis developed in Georgia," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who chaired the foreign ministers' meeting, on Saturday.

France's Foreign Affairs minister Bernard Kouchner arrives for the Informal UE foreign ministers meeting(GYMNICH) in Avignon, southern France, September 5, 2008.

"That investigation needs to be launched as soon as possible," he said.

    However, Kouchner failed to give details of the modality of such an investigation. He indicated that it could involve international bodies, non-governmental organizations or the United Nations.

    He noted that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he would immediately send a fact-finding mission to South Ossetia.

(R to L) European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, French Foreign Ministry State Secretary for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and European Union Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner attend a news conference for an informal EU foreign ministers' meeting in Avignon, southern France, Sept. 5, 2008. The two-day informal EU foreign ministers' meeting was opened in Avignon on Sept. 5

Georgia launched a sudden attack in South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an attempt to regain control of the breakaway region. Tbilisi's move triggered prompt reaction from Russia, whose troops drove Georgian forces out of the region and took parts of Georgian territory.

    Since the start of the conflict, Tbilisi and Moscow have been accusing each other of ethnic cleansing.

    The immediate developments to the military conflict remains a myth.

    Solana's spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, said Friday that Solana talked to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on the morning of Aug. 7 and urged him to show restraint in face of the escalating tension between Georgia and Russia.

    Saakashvili told Solana that he had offered a cease-fire to the Russians. Gallach said she could not explain why the conflict started before midnight on Aug. 7.

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who brokered a six-point peace plan, travels to Moscow and Tbilisi on Monday in an attempt to secure a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia proper.

    The six-point peace plan provides for withdrawal of Georgian and Russian troops to pre-conflict positions.

    The West is accusing Russia of failing to honor its commitments by establishing security zones on the border of South Ossetia and another breakaway region of Abkhazia.

    The West also condemned Russia for its recognition of the two regions as independent states.

    On Saturday, the EU foreign ministers also agreed in principle to send an observer mission to Georgia to monitor the implementation of a peace plan between the Caucasian country and Russia.

    "We will have an observer mission in Georgia," EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana said at the end of an informal EU foreign ministers' meeting.

    Such a mission would be the EU's first in Caucasus, although it has had experience in the Balkans, noted Solana.

    He said a formal decision is expected at a formal foreign ministers' meeting on Sept. 15. The decision will take into account the results of Sarkozy's trip to Moscow and Tbilisi on Monday.

    Sarkozy will be accompanied by European Commission President Manuel Barroso and Solana.

    The size of the observer mission is yet to be decided. But there are words that its staff could be in hundreds.

    Russia has refused to allow Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers to re-enter South Ossetia after the Georgia-Russia conflict.

    Kouchner asked Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia proper. At the same time, he stressed the need for the EU to maintain dialogue with Russia.

    "Russia is a great country and Russia is our neighbor. No doubt, we must find the way to talk to each other," he said.