Turkey sends observers to South Ossetia

"The OSCE Permanent Council decided on August 18, 2008 to increase the number of monitors in the mission to Georgia to 100 for six months, the minimum," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said the council decided to deploy 20 military monitoring officers to South Ossetia.

"Turkey has decided to send two military observers to the 20-member team," the ministry said.

The ministry also said that Turkish observers went to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Sept. 2.

In the statement, the ministry said that Turkey, which attached importance to peace and stability in the Caucasus, would continue to support endeavors of the international community.

The OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization whose 56 participating states span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

The Permanent Council, one of the main regular decision-making bodies of the Organization, convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.

The OSCE Mission to Georgia has some 200 staff, including eight unarmed military monitoring officers. The OSCE Mission has been present on the ground since 1992. The additional monitors will be recruited from the 56 OSCE participating States.

Photo: AP