The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, called on the Georgian government for “a measured response” to the Georgian Parliament’s February 15 resolution on the peacekeeping forces stationed in the South Ossetian conflict zone, the OSCE press office reported on February 16.

"While reconfirming the OSCE's support for the territorial integrity of Georgia and recognising the sovereign right of its Parliament to pass a resolution on peacekeeping operations in Georgia, I hope that the Georgian Government will adopt a measured response and that negotiations with the Russian side will be conducted at the highest level," Minister De Gucht said.

He also called on all sides involved to exercise restraint and to refrain from any actions or statements that could raise tensions on the ground and expressed hope that the current “difficult situation would not be complicated further.”

The Chairman-in-Office sent his Special Envoy Senator Pierre Chevalier to Georgia on 15 February to assess the situation.

"I will follow with interest the meeting of the Joint Control Commission due to be held in Vienna on 20 and 21 February… I hope this meeting will be constructive and bring about positive results," Minister De Gucht said.