August 6th Rocket Attack on Georgian Sovereign Territory

The U.S. condemns the August 6^th rocket attack against Georgia. We praise Georgia's continuing restraint in the face of this air attack and call for the urgent clarification of the facts surrounding this incident and for all relevant parties to cooperate fully with the Georgian Government's and the OSCE's investigation.

The proximity of this attack to Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region and the violation of Georgia's airspace over the zone of conflict underscore the pressing need for progress toward peaceful resolution of the South Ossetia conflict. We encourage Russia and Georgia to advance efforts to this end in a constructive spirit, even in the face of this latest attack. We call for measures to prevent similar attacks against Georgia in the future, including implementation of the United Nations Joint Fact-Finding Group's recommendations on the March 11 attack in Georgia's Abkhazia region. We also repeat our call for speedy implementation of confidence building measures for the South Ossetia conflict, including increased OSCE monitoring of the region and international monitoring of the Roki Tunnel. We continue to support Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and Georgia's efforts to engage all relevant parties in defining an autonomous status for South Ossetia within Georgia's internationally recognized borders.