Monitor to end mission in Georgia

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. State Department officials Monday condemned Russia's decision to block extension of a 16-year-old international monitoring mission in Georgia.

Russia effectively vetoed the extension by voting against a measure supported by all of the other 55 participating states in the The Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

The mission, which is to dissolve Jan. 1, has been unable to resolve a deadlock with Russia over conflicts in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Calling Russia's decision "difficult to justify," McCormack said the United States continues to have serious concerns about human rights abuses, which the OSCE mission addressed.

Ending the mission removes some of the international oversight of the two breakaway regions, where Russia plans to establish a permanent military presence, The New York Times reported Monday, noting Georgian officials support extending the mission.