Helsinki - Finland, current chair of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), expressed "serious concern" over the situation in South Ossetia in Georgia.

Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb issued a statement late on Thursday saying he "deplored" that a planned meeting of representatives of Georgia and South Ossetia, a breakaway region supported by Russia, had not taken place.

Stubb said he had been in touch with the parties urging them "to stop all military action and re-establish direct contacts." (dpa)