Current affairs

The Chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, is to meet on Monday 18 August and on Tuesday 19 August in Brussels representatives from key organisations involved in handling the Georgia crisis: the OSCE, the EU, NATO and the UN.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, voiced grave concern today about the safety of civilians in and around the South Ossetia conflict area, and will push for an increase of Military Monitoring Officers of the OSCE Mission to Georgia by up to one hundred.

After having agreed about the matter with Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen, Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb announced in the meeting of the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels today that Finland is prepared to provide support for humanitarian assistance of civilian victims of the crisis in Georgia up to the amount of one million euro.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, welcomed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's decision on Tuesday to halt the military operation in Georgia and said the OSCE stood ready to help monitor any ceasefire and assist in humanitarian relief efforts.

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.

The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb travels to Tbilisi today, 10. August 2008 together with the Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France. They will continue from Tbilisi to Moscow. Meetings with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov among others are foreseen.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, urges parties to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict to end all military action.

Fighting in South Ossetia, Georgia, escalated last night. Therefore, today 8 August Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb has continued the talks with the parties of the conflict and other key actors. In addition, Minister Stubb has decided to deploy his Special Envoy Ambassador Heikki Talvitie immediately to Georgia, and he is also himself getting prepared to travel to the region.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, expressed serious concern today about the deteriorating situation in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and said he deplored the fact that a planned meeting of Georgian and South Ossetian representatives had not taken place. 

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, condemned the latest escalation of violation including overnight shooting in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.