Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb of Finland and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden met today in Brussels as chairs of the OSCE and of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe respectively together with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis, and the Director of the Office of the Secretary General of the OSCE, Paul Fritch.  According to the OSCE press-release forwarded to UNIAN, regarding the situation in Georgia, they called for a strict adherence to the six-point ceasefire agreement of the French and Russian Presidents. It is fundamental that the Russian troops return to their positions held prior to 7 August.  They also expressed their strong support for the activities already undertaken by the Council of Europe and the OSCE.  They agreed on the importance to continue to assess the overall human rights situation in the war-affected areas, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

They recalled that as member States of the Council of Europe and participating States of the OSCE both Russia and Georgia are bound by human rights obligations and commitments which must be respected in all circumstances.

Other topics of the meeting included election-related issues and co-operation between the two organisations in the four priority areas; action against terrorism, the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, combating trafficking in human beings and promoting tolerance and non-discrimination.

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Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb is the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.