Brussels, 02/09/2008: Following the summit of European heads of state and government on the situation in the Caucasus and during the ensuing debate in the European Parliament last night, GUE/NGL President Francis Wurtz warned that to "adopt a pro-Georgian or pro-Russian stance vis-à-vis the crisis in the Caucasus could only lead to an impasse." 

According to MEP Wurtz, the Union's top priority should be "to stop escalation of the conflict at all costs and explore ways to develop a new pan-European treaty for security and cooperation that would be legally binding, and that would incorporate all outstanding problems including territorial integrity, the inviolability of borders, the fate of "frozen conflicts", non recourse to the use of force, disarmament, and also security of energy supplies."

GUE/NGL German MEP Tobias Pflüger, who attended Parliament's foreign affairs committee's special meeting two weeks after the outbreak of hostilities on 20 August, condemned the spiral of violence set off by this war, the exaggerated military response and the unacceptable use of cluster bombs and violation of humanitarian law by both sides.

"The recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are comparable with Kosovo" he said, pointing an accusing finger at the West for opening a Pandora's Box in this respect. "Wars should never happen and we should not be seen to foster wars," he concluded.

Vittorio Agnoletto (GUE/NGL, Italy) recalled that the first victims of all wars were civilians and asked the EU to give priority to helping refugees and "to avoid taking any political decision that could worsen their fate." He said the request from Georgia to take part in the NATO alliance should be rejected and the US should be asked to withdraw its fleet from the Black Sea and Poland to give up the installation of US missiles on its territory.