“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has responded to the 58th round of international talks in Geneva with an official statement that during the negotiations, the Georgian delegation emphasized the key agenda items, including the need for full compliance with the international commitments undertaken by Russia in the ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008, and the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes from the occupied territories.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, due to the destructive position of the representatives of Russia and its occupying regimes, the discussion of one of the most important agenda items, the safe and dignified return of displaced persons and refugees expelled from the occupied territories as a result of ethnic cleansing, did not take place.
As soon as this issue was brought up, participants from Moscow, Sukhumi, and Tskhinvali left the negotiations.
The Georgian delegation also raised acute security and humanitarian issues related to the Russian occupation, such as illegal military exercises, the construction of barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers along the occupation line, unlawful arrests and abductions, human rights violations, and ethnic discrimination against Georgians. The necessity of resolving these issues was emphasized,” the ministry’s statement says.
Statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“The relevance of such a document is particularly heightened against the backdrop of ongoing military exercises by the United States and NATO in the South Caucasus, as well as the remaining plans for Georgia’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” the statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Statement by Sukhumi
The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia emphasizes the importance of the agreement on non-use of force and accuses the Georgian delegation of “non-constructiveness.”
“Georgian participants once again continue to block any proposals to agree on the text of the document on the non-use of force. This issue remains open, and its discussion has been postponed to the next round,” the statement said.
Statement by Tskhinvali
The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tskhinvali accuses the Georgian side of attempting to transfer street protests from Tbilisi to the Geneva platform.
“The atmosphere of the meeting was negatively affected by the ongoing anti-Russian campaign in Georgia, accompanied by aggressive rhetoric towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However, the attempt by Georgian participants to transfer street protests from Tbilisi to the Geneva platform was unsuccessful,” the statement said.
● After the August 2008 war, direct dialogue between Georgia and Russia was discontinued. In accordance with the ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008, the Geneva format was established, where Russia and Georgia, along with representatives from Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, as well as representatives from international organizations, would discuss various humanitarian issues.
● Prior to the establishment of the Abashidze-Karasin format of Georgian-Russian negotiations after the current ruling party “Georgian Dream” came to power, Geneva was the only place where Tbilisi and Moscow would talk.
● The Geneva talks consist of four rounds per year.
● The Geneva format does not address the political aspects of the conflict. In other words, the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and other political issues are not discussed here.
● The Geneva international talks take place in two parallel working groups:
The first group discusses security issues (such as achieving a non-use of force agreement between Russia and Georgia, creating mechanisms for international security in the occupied regions of Georgia).
The second group discusses the situation of internally displaced persons and their return. This group also addresses important humanitarian issues related to people living in the occupied territories (such as education in their native language, protection of cultural heritage, freedom of movement across the occupation lines, health of those living in the occupied territories, criminal cases, human rights, etc.).
● In addition to Georgia and Russia, the Geneva talks involve representatives from the United States and co-chairs from the OSCE, EU, and UN. Representatives from Tskhinvali and Sukhumi also participate in the discussions.
