24/09/2008 News
, 24.09.2008 – A delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in has called for an international investigation into the circumstances surrounding the war between and .
“Truth is the precondition for reconciliation,” said Luc Van den Brande (Belgium, EPP/CD), leading the nine-member, cross-party delegation, which is visiting both countries to gather information ahead of an Assembly urgent debate on the consequences of the war next week in Strasbourg.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow following the first part of the visit (22-23 September), together with the delegation, he said their aim was to hear the point of view of both sides, establish the facts on the spot as far as possible, and make proposals for possible future action. “The conflict didn’t start on 7 August,” he pointed out.
Mr Van den Brande said that a war between two member states was a matter of grave concern, and condemned the human suffering caused by it. “We heard evidence of infringements of basic human rights on both sides, including indiscriminate shelling and looting, in which civilians were victims. This is unacceptable.”
He also called for full implementation of the ceasefire agreements, in particular the withdrawal of Russian forces within the agreed terms and the deployment of international observers without restrictions, and raised the issue of ’s recognition of and Abkhazia.
Mr Van den Brande pointed out that the Council of Europe – organisation to which both, and belong - is ideally placed to allow both of them to sit down together around the same table and hold a direct dialogue. “Parliamentary diplomacy in particular, involving both the Russian and Georgian parliaments, can favour mutual understanding,” he said.
Replying to a question on a request to reconsider the credentials of the Russian delegation made by some members of the Assembly, Mr Van den Brande said: “This is for the Assembly to decide, but my feeling is that a majority of the Assembly will rather opt for dialogue. It is my deep conviction that needs , and needs .”
Among other delegation members responding to questions, Andreas Gross (Switzerland), leader of the Socialist Group, who has observed elections in both Russia and Georgia, said he believed it was “no coincidence” that two member states where democracy is still in its beginning had, for the first time in the history of the organisation, gone to war.