A planned police mission to Kyrgyzstan by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) following bloody ethnic clashes was on track, Germany's foreign minister said Saturday, dpa reported.
"We are convinced that this police mission, that we need to stabilize the situation in Kyrgyzstan, will take place," Guido Westerwelle said at the beginning of an informal OSCE foreign minister's meeting near Almaty.
"I am under the impression that many colleagues here see this the same way," he said, adding that he also supported an international inquiry into the fighting between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz last month, which cost 2,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.
The OSCE, the world's largest security organization with 56 member states, and Kyrgyzstan's interim government Friday agreed on the principles for a 52-member police advisory group to be sent to the Central Asian state for four months, with the option to send an additional 50 offers later.
"The tasks of this mission is first of all advising the Kyrgyz police," said Herbert Salber, head of the OSCE conflict prevention centre. "They will be assisting and also monitoring the Kyrgyz police."
Kyrgyz interim President Rosa Otunbayeva said the issue of the mandate had to be precisely clarified.
The mission still needs the approval of the OSCE's member states.