EU foreign ministers to meet over the crisis in Georgia
Press release 284/2008
12 August, 2008
The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council will organise an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday 13 August in Brussels over the situation in Georgia. Finland’s representative in the meeting will be Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, who will travel to Brussels from Moscow on Tuesday evening.
In their extraordinary meeting, the EU foreign ministers will address the situation in Georgia and EU’s role in finding a solution to the crisis. The fighting in South Ossetia escalated into full-scale war between Georgia and Russia on 8 August.
In the meeting, Finland will explain its actions as the holder of the OSCE Chairmanship aimed at calming down and solving the situation. The situation in Georgia is very alarming. In its capacity as the holder of the OSCE Chairmanship, Finland aims at an immediate termination of combat activity and prevention of new civilian casualties in particular. Further goal is to have negotiations about a peaceful solution to the conflict relaunched.
The international community has expressed its concern over the development of the situation and appealed to the parties of the conflict for finding a peaceful solution.
Further information: Director Tuula Yrjölä, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +358 9 1605 6095, +358 40 740 9213, Counsellor Anne Huhtamäki, Division for European Affairs, tel. +35 9 1605 6097, +358 40 546 0456, and Press Counsellor Marko Ruonala, Finland’s Permanent Representation in the European Union, Brussels, tel. +32 475 752072
