From this week, EUMM observers and the Georgian police authorities will hold regular meetings to enhance information exchange. The first meeting of this kind was attended by the EUMM Deputy Head of Mission, General Gilles Janvier, who met with the head of the Gori Police Division, Mr. Shalva Tramakidze.“The spirit of this meeting is to share information on a regular, informal basis” general Janvier said at the meeting. “We will talk about upcoming plans, ask questions, and discuss pressing issues. It is important to stress, that this is to be informal meetings between professionals, to avoid misunderstandings.”
The EUMM and the Georgian Police Authorities have already a very good working relationship, and the weekly meetings will enhance this cooperation. The meetings will make it easier for the EUMM to raise questions on different matters, and for the Georgian side to inform the EUMM about its plans and projects.
During this first meeting, one of the issues discussed, was the deployment of the armed Cobra vehicles in the areas adjacent to the administrative boundary line with South Ossetia. The EUMM has expressed concern about the deployment of these military-type vehicles because it firmly believes that they will not contribute to enhancing the security situation on the ground. But according to Mr. Tramakidze, the vehicles in question do help the security situation, as they provide a safe environment for the police officers in the region. The vehicles will not, Mr. Tramakidze stressed, be deployed in the vicinity of the administrative boundary line. Apart from Mr. Tramakidze and Gen. Janvier, present at the meeting were also the EUMM liaison officer to the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Rinas Bendzius from the EUMM headquarters, the commander of the EUMM field office Gori, Col. Stephan Burel, the reporting officer of the Gori Field Office, Capt. David Jedrus and Mr. Georgi Lomdize from the Gori Police Authority.