Georgian delegation departs for Geneva

Non-use of force, using international security measures and ensuring Georgia's internally displaced people (IDPs) can return to their homes will be the main issues discussed at the next round of Geneva negotiations on October 7 and 8.

The Georgian delegation will depart for Geneva to take part in the 29th round of talks tomorrow.

During the negotiations, the Georgian side will raise the issue of the recent statement by de-facto president of Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia region about restricting movement on the administrative border, which will see the number of checkpoints decrease from six to one.

This decision of the de-facto leader of Abkhazia was assessed as a "violation of fundamental human rights” by Georgia.

The Geneva International Discussions were launched after the August 2008 war in order to address the consequences of the Russia-Georgia clash. The talks were co-chaired by representatives from the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) and Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), while negotiators from Georgia, Russia and the United States, as well as from Georgia’s breakaway regions Sukhumi and Tskhinvali were also involved.

One of the outcomes of the talks was the establishment of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRMs), which was tasked to react to all illegal activities along the administrative lines between Georgia and its Russian-occupied regions.