Georgia, Tbilisi, 3 July / corr. Trend N.Kirtzkhalia /
Russia should not be allowed to block a decision to restore the activity of the OSCE's mission in Georgia, Speaker of Georgia's Parliament David Usupashvili told journalists in Istanbul.
Istanbul is hosting a session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA).
According to him, the meeting with the president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and his representatives in the South Caucasus discussed the restoration of OSCE mission activities in Georgia. Usupashvili also met with delegations from Germany and the UK.
"The OSCE mission does not only observe the elections, but also works on security issues in general. Today, the peace in Georgia is provided only by the EU observer mission and we see that it is insufficient," Usupashvili said.
According to him, peacekeeping forces under the auspices of OSCE have been interrupted on these territories over many years, and Georgia should achieve success in this regard.
According to Usupashvili, the final declaration of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will reflect a recommendation to restore the mission and the necessity of accelerating the de-occupation process.
The activities of the OSCE mission in Georgia were suspended due to Russia's protest following the 2008 events.
Large scale military action was launched in South Ossetia on August 8, 2008. Later, Russian troops occupied Tskhinvali and expelled the Georgian military.
Russia recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in late August.
In response, Tbilisi broke diplomatic relations with Moscow and has called the two unrecognised republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia occupied territories.