MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that the OSCE mission on the Russian-Georgian border has attained its goals, the Foreign Ministry's PR department told Interfax on Wednesday.
Border guard interaction between Russia and Georgia has improved considerably, Lavrov told reporters after a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Salome Zourabichvili in Sofia on Tuesday. Uniformed agencies of the two countries, including the border guard services, are cooperating to rule out illegal border crossing, he said.
"We believe that the measures taken since the mission's establishment already allow us to attain our goals without using such a tool as the OSCE mission," Lavrov stressed.
The minister recalled that the mission's maintenance requires considerable funds from the OSCE budget. "We believe that the OSCE budget funds could be spent on implementing projects in which Georgia is interested, including on the strengthening of Georgia's border guard capabilities," he said.
In response to a question from reporters, Lavrov did not rule out that terrorists may cross the Russian-Georgian border. "Nothing can be guaranteed by 100 percent. But the OSCE mission has already fulfilled its functions," he said.
According to Lavrov, the foreign ministers and Security Councils of the two countries are coordinating solutions to various problems in relations between Russia and Georgia. "These include military issues, economic cooperation, and contribution to conflict settlement on the Georgian territory," he said.
"Talks between the Russian and Georgian security council secretaries on specific issues are being prepared," he added.
Speaking about Russia's compliance with the Istanbul agreements, the minister said that as the parties are not making tough statements on the issue, this "may reflect all the parties' intention to solve problems through a specific dialog."
"We are ready to implement the Istanbul agreements. This requires continuation of work. We have discussed with Mrs. Zourabichvili today what steps are needed for this," Lavrov noted.