South Ossetia Is "On The Brink Of Full-fledged War" - OSCE

http://www.easybourse.com/bourse-actualite/marches/south-ossetia-is-on-the-brink-of-full-fledged-war-osce-502907

Friday August 8th, 2008 / 14h37

VIENNA (AFP)--South Ossetia, the breakaway region of Georgia, is on the brink of all-out war, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe warned Friday after it called a special meeting at its Vienna headquarters. "The intense fighting in the South Ossetian conflict zone risks escalation into a full-fledged war," said the OSCE's chairman, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, in a statement. The OSCE had earlier announced it was sending a special envoy immediately to Georgia in a bid to kickstart talks between the Georgian government and separatist South Ossetia representatives. The meeting would be closed to the press and no further statement was expected afterwards. In an interview with Finnish national broadcaster YLE, special envoy Heikki Talvitie said: "We will try again today to get a direct contact (between Georgia and South Ossetia). It is necessary to get a ceasefire." Stubb said he was in contact with Tbilisi and the South Ossetian authorities in Tskhinvali as well as all international players involved in resolving the conflict. "The international community needs to act together to prevent a full-fledged war. I am in constant contact with my colleagues in the European Union and the U.S. I have also called for restraint in the Russian reaction," Stubb said. Georgian forces have surrounded South Ossetia's main city Tskhinvali and 15 civilians have died in bombings, according to South Ossetian officials. Stubb condemned the shelling of the OSCE mission premises in Tskhinvali. "The OSCE mission to Georgia is intensively working with all parties to defuse tensions. The mission's work and mandate must be respected by all parties in the conflict," he said. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=NId47M3vsqdNbn%2FahaPRAg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
Friday August 8th, 2008 / 14h37	Source : Dowjones Business News