Georgia and South Ossetia must cooperate to overcome the aftermath of the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia over the republic, a leading official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday.
Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in South Ossetia in August 2008. Russia recognized South Ossetia and another former Georgian republic, Abkhazia, as independent states shortly after the ceasefire. Tbilisi has declared them occupied territories and broken off relations with Moscow.
"The principle of consensus dominates in the OSCE, and there are opposite positions of the state members on this issue," the director of the organization's Secretariat Center on Conflict Prevention, Herbert Salber, said on Monday at a briefing in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana.
Kazakshtan holds the OSCE's rotating presidency this year.
But Salber said the reconciliation process between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali would take much time.
"There is no need to wait for a miracle, but a summit here, in Astana, allows direct talks at a high level," Salber said.
The OSCE summit is to take place on December 1-2 in Astana.
ASTANA, November 29 (RIA Novosti)
