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France calls for UN resolution to end conflict in Georgia
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-12 16:02 UNITED NATIONS - France is pushing the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that seeks to end the escalating fighting in Georgia, diplomats said Monday. Emerging from a council meeting Monday afternoon, Jean Pierre Lacroix, French deputy permanent representative to the UN, said France would soon table the draft resolution to the 15-member UN body.
According to a copy of the France-sponsored draft being circulated here, the draft calls for the "immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, and the complete withdrawal of Russian and Georgian forces to their positions prior to August 7, 2008." It would call on "all parties to the conflict to engage immediately in negotiations aimed at finding a peaceful and durable solution." The draft also "welcomes international mediation efforts, including those led by the European Union and the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe, and reaffirms the commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia." Lacroix said Georgia has already agreed to the draft and that he hopes Russia would also respond favorably. US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said the United States supports the draft and that "whether it passes or not depends exclusively on Russia." "The Russian response to the resolution would be an indication of where Russia is heading with regard to Georgia and it will lead to judgments and assessments ... in terms of Russia's relations with the region and the world," Khalilzad said. |
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