Conference over Georgian issue to be held in Geneva next week
9/10/2008 17:22
An international conference to pool together opinions on the Georgian
issue is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Geneva, the French Foreign Ministry said
yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference, ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier
said the topics of discussion during the conference will be announced later by
European Union (EU) Special Representative for the crisis in Georgia Pierre
Morel.
French President Nickolas Sarkozy yesterday met with his Russian
counterpart Dmitry Medvedev at a seminar on worldwide issues in Evian in east
France.
According to the French media, Sarkozy said after the seminar that
"all concerned parties should take part in the discussion over the Georgian
issue, with each one's standpoint being respected."
The remarks were
interpreted by the media as that France was approving the attendance of
representatives from South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the discussion, to show its
support for Russia in this regard.
France, the holder of the EU's rotating
presidency in the second half of this year, has been actively mediating for
settlements of the South Ossetia issue and others.
On Sept. 8, Sarkozy, as
head of the European Council, paid a visit to Russia and Georgia with European
Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, and the EU security and foreign policy
chief Javier Solana, achieving agreements on Russia's withdrawal of troops and
the convening of an international conference on the Georgian
issue.
Xinhua
|
