EU monitors step up patrols in Georgia

Next wednesday (Sept 30th) the EU report on the origins of last year's conflict in Georgia will be presented to the Council of Ministers in Brussels. The German newspaper Der Spiegel has speculated that the Georgian President Saakashvili will be heavily criticised, and that his government will be largely blamed for the incident. It had been widely assumed that responsibility would be laid equally at the doors of Tblisi and Moscow. If Saakashvili is held responsible, this is likely to increase the frequency and strength of the street demonstrations against him. It will also severely damage his already shaky standing on the international stage.
 
Tension in the region is rising in anticipation of the report, and EU monitors have stepped up their patrols accordingly. "We will reinforce our patrols ahead of the publication of the report and maintain maximum visibility," German diplomat Hansjorg Haber, the head of EU's monitoring mission in Georgia (EUMM), told journalists in Brussels this week. In June a roadside bomb exploded near an EU patrol, killing a Georgian medic.
 
This comes as the Kremlin is speculating about the possibility of reducing its own military presence in the region; it resolutely refuses to allow the EU monitors into the disputed territories of South Ossetia or Abkhazia, however.
 
 
See also: http://www.cartwright.eu.com/node/93