The OSCE agreed on Thursday to extend the presence of 20 military observers in Georgia until the end of June, as the democracy and rights group tries to reach a deal with Moscow to maintain its wider role there.

The mandate of the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's military observers, who are based in Georgia and conduct patrols inside South Ossetia, had been due to expire next week.

Since a war last year between Russia and Georgia, separatist authorities in South Ossetia have denied the observers access to the region and Moscow has blocked the renewal of the mission's mandate in Georgia.

The OSCE was forced to start shutting down its broader mission in Georgia on Jan. 1, after Russia refused to extend the mandate because of a dispute over the status of pro-Russian South Ossetia.

The extension for the military monitors, passed unanimously by the 56-nation OSCE council which includes both Russia and Georgia, does not affect the broader mission. But Herbert Alber, head of the OSCE's Conflict Prevention Centre, said it was a step in the right direction.

"It is a signal that more time is needed to look at this bigger question of keeping also another kind of OSCE presence in Georgia.

Greece, which holds the OSCE's rotating chairmanship, has been in talks with Russia on a compromise deal to keep the larger mission working.

Moscow wants to split the mission to reflect Russia's recognition of South Ossetia as an independent state after quashing Georgia's bid to retake separatist territory.

The United States and European allies do not recognise the independence of South Ossetia, which was considered an autonomous region of Georgia when the country was part of the old Soviet Union.

Western governemnts say the OSCE presence in and around South Ossetia could help prevent new hostilities and protect civilians from persecution by rival security forces.

There are 28 military observers in Georgia. The mandate has only been extended for the 20 officers sent there in August after the outbreak of the war between Russia and Georgia.

The future of the eight other military monitors, based in the country since the 1990s when separatist conflicts erupted, depends on whether the broader mission is extended.