Georgia, Tbilisi, September 16 /Trend, N. Kirtzkhalia/
Georgia welcomes the extension of EU Monitoring Mission's mandate to 2014, as well as appointment of the new mission head, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister David Jalagonia told journalists on Monday.
According to him, Tovia Klaar from Estonia was appointed the head of EU Monitoring Mission. According to the decision of the European Union, this mandate was earlier extended to December 14, 2014. The former head of the mission Andrzej Tyszkiewicz left Georgia in late July and Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili awarded a Medal of Honour to him before leaving.
"We welcome both the extension of the EU mission's mandate and the appointment of the new mission head. Georgian Foreign Ministry expresses]d its readiness for close cooperation with the new head of the mission. We stress the significance of the EU Monitoring Mission in strengthening stability in Georgia," the Deputy Minister said.
The EU Monitoring Mission is an unarmed civilian monitoring mission. It was founded by the EU on September 15, 2008 after the August war in Georgia. The EU Monitoring Mission officially started its work on October 1, 2008. the mission includes nearly 260 observers from 25 EU countries.
The EU Monitoring Mission is the only organization with observers in Georgia after the UN and OSCE suspended their work due to Russia's veto. EU observers act in the regions surrounding the zones of the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts, in the territories controlled by Georgia.