Finnish Foreign Minister, Alexander Stubb, who is an outgoing OSCE chairman-in-office, said no consensus had been yet reached on the continued OSCE presence in Georgia.

“If a solution is not found soon, continued OSCE activities in Georgia will be in danger next year,” Stubb said on December 19.

“I appeal to all OSCE participating States constructively to consider our proposal on the future of the OSCE Mission to Georgia or at least agree on a three-month technical extension to allow further negotiations,” he added.

The current mandate of the OSCE mission in Georgia expires on December 31, 2008.

Moscow is insisting on modifying mandates of OSCE missions in Georgia. Russia says that a new mandate for the mission is needed to reflect the new realities that have emerged aftermath of the August war. The Russian diplomats insist on a separate mandate for OSCE field presence in South Ossetia, which would be independent of the Tbilisi office. How the matter is resolved will largely determine whether the OSCE military observers will be able or not to return back to Tskhinvali. According to the current mandate, OSCE is authorized to have eight observers in the Tskhinvali field office; OSCE withdrew its staff from Tskhinvali when the war broke out in the region.