In the margins of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, today met the Georgian Vice-Prime Minister, Giorgi Baramidze, in Strasbourg. The meeting, organised as a result of discussions at the EU GAERC Council meeting of 29 April in Luxembourg, was intended to acquaint the Council President with the situation in Georgia, which has been rather tense recently. In conversation with Dr Rupel, Mr Baramidze described recent events and expressed concern regarding the reinforcement of the Russian military presence in Abkhazia and Ossetia. Dr Rupel underlined that the European Union is closely monitoring events and working for a diplomatic solution which would ensure a sustainable peace and appropriate development for the whole of Georgia.
