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The US Helsinki Commission hearing mentions Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia war

29 July 2011 08:10 (UTC +04:00)

Philip Gordon, Assistant Secretary of the State for Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, the adjustment of the frozen conflicts is one of the USâ€™ top priorities in the OSCE region.

The US consider that the upcoming December OSCE summit in Vilnius should focus on modernizing the 1999 Vienna document on trust and security strengthening, Gordon said.

Discussions on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and providing more economical security in Europe are other issues to consider at the Vilnius summit, he added.

â€œWe want to come to a conclusion and a decision on the Vienna document, seriously modernize itâ€¦ We study once again the ways that could help achieve more security and stability through information exchange, notification system, observations and, maybe, some other measures as wellâ€, Gordon added.

According to Gordon, the US hope there will be a chance to discuss ways to make European economies more transparent, adopting and introducing anti-corruption measures in the OSCE region.

Gordon averred that the US and Russia have recently had numerous disagreements regarding issues in the OSCE region, including the frozen conflicts, but â€œWe are intending to continue working with a country that is one of the main voices in the OSCE areaâ€.

Another participant of the hearing, Assistant Secretary Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Department of Defense Office of International Security Affairs, said the situation around Georgia that remains difficult since the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, was and still is one of the most difficult moments in the OSCEâ€™s work.
â€œLittle was done recently to adjust the conflict between Russia and Georgia. The US continues recognizing Georgiaâ€™s territorial integrityâ€, he added.

Other participants stressed for numerous times that another painful situation in the OSCE region is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which still leaves victims. The participants called on the soonest adjustment of the conflict and good steps towards it.