On 3 September, Foreign Ministry representative Raimonds Vingris took up his post at the Office of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus. Mr Vingris will fulfil the functions of a Political Advisor.

The decision by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send a diplomat to Tbilisi was based on Latvia's call for a more active EU involvement in settling the Russia-Georgia conflict and normalising the situation in Georgia. As the situation in Georgia has escalated, EU Member States have agreed to increase the capacity of the Office of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.

The function of the Special Representative is to foster dialogue between the EU and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, to assist these states in their reform process, and to encourage EU support for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

At present, it is anticipated that Mr Vingris will work in Georgia until 30 November. At the Foreign Ministry, Special Representative Vingris served previously as the Deputy Head of the Minister's office.

For more information on the Office of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus see:

http://consilium.europa.eu/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=1037&lang=EN

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