Georgian, Ossetian and Russian sides hold three-hour meeting amid occupation line tension
The meeting took place after the Ossetian side yesterday called on Georgia to dismantle the police checkpoint in the village of Chorchana, near the occupation line by 06:00 AM on August 30. Photo: RFE/RL Georgian service.
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The members of the Georgian government and occupation forces of the de-facto Tskhinvali region and Russia have held a meeting amid tensions along the occupation line in the Russia-occupied village of Tsnelisi today.
After the three-hour meeting was over, the Georgian and Ossetian sides made different statements.
Head of the Georgian Security Council Kakhaber Kemoklidze said the meeting participants were unanimous, saying the situation should be de-escalated, adding the meeting was held in a ‘constructive environment.’
The parties have agreed to take concrete steps to deescalate the current situation. All the sides have agreed to this,” Kemoklidze stated.
He said another meeting will be held next week in the Russia-occupied village of Ergneti.
Kakhaber Kemoklidze has assessed the meeting as a ‘great step made in the right direction’, and said the Ossetian side stated they did not intend to give any ultimatum to Georgia, adding the checkpoint issue has not been discussed at today’s meeting.
Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia Vladimer Bortsvadze stated the occupation forces said that the word ‘ultimatum’ was a misinterpretation by media outlets.
The population living in the Georgia-controlled area has no reason to be concerned. I would like to tell the same to those living in Russia-occupied Tsnelisi,” Georgian official Kemoklidze said, adding the Georgian police are ensuring security in the area.
While the Georgian officials say the parties have agreed on de-escalation and the checkpoint issue was not discussed during the meeting, ‘President’ of de-facto South Ossetia Republic Anatoly Bibilov stated that the demand on dismantling the Georgian police checkpoint remains unchanged and negotiations will continue.
He has also said that situation is currently stable in the area, adding the Ossetian side will also construct a checkpoint In Tsnelisi to ensure the safety of the population.
The meeting took place after the Ossetian side yesterday called on Georgia to dismantle the police checkpoint in the village of Chorchana, near the occupation line by 06:00 AM on August 30.
The Georgian government did not give into the demand.
Politicians from the European Union have responded to the tense situation that arose yesterday in the village of Chorchana, near the Russia-occupied region of Tskhinvali, Georgia.
Member of the European Parliament and Polish politician Anna Fotyga said in her Twitter post yesterday that the threat of provocation and escalation is observed as Russian occupation and Ossetian forces have concentrated along the occupation line.
De facto official of the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, Egor Kochiev said the Georgian police checkpoint in the village of Chorchana in Khashuri Municipality, close to Tskhinvali should be dismantled by 6 a.m. Friday, August 30.
The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) said today’s Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting “was marked by a series of intense exchanges on the topic of Tsnelisi between participants”.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has invited foreign diplomats to discuss the tense situation near the occupation line with the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region, in Khashuri Municipality. The diplomats have convened in the foreign ministry as the 95th session of Incidents Prevention and Response Mechanism (IRPM) in Russia-occupied Ergneti village, attended by Georgian, Russian and so-called Ossetian government members fell apart today.
The de-facto South Ossetia ‘State Security Committee’ has announced that a ‘humanitarian operation’ will be carried out in the Russia-occupied village of Tsnelisi. The official statement does not clearly define what the ‘humanitarian operation’ is though it reads the operation is ‘absolutely peaceful.’“The operation is absolutely peaceful and serves to maintain stability and safety in the region,” the statement says.
The United States is “monitoring reports of military buildup near the administrative boundary line (ABL) of the Russian-occupied Georgian region of South Ossetia”. The US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus released a statement on her official Twitter account today.
The Russian Foreign Ministry shared “serious concern over the escalation of tension on the border between South Ossetia and Georgia” caused by the construction of Georgian police checkpoint close to the villages of Chorchana and Tsnelisi on both sides of the occupation line.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives said “Russia must immediately cease its destructive behaviour and respect Georgian sovereignty”. In a statement released on August 30, the Foreign Affairs Committee said “Russia’s further militarisation of South Ossetia is outrageous and unacceptable".
The de facto “security committee” of Russia-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region announced that at around 10 a.m. this morning, fire was opened on their unmanned aerial vehicle from the Tbilisi-controlled Khashuri Municipality.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili says that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to create a joint strategy with Georgia on how to combat Russian occupation and help both countries become members of the EU.
The de facto government of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region is clearing a road to a new ‘police checkpoint’ in the village of Tsnelisi, Kareli municipality of Georgia, at an altitude of 944 meters.
The OSCE Permanent Council has made a statement on recent developments in the occupied regions of Georgia on behalf of 15 countries. The United States Mission to OSCE, which "fully subscribes to the joint statement made by the Group of Friends of Georgia", released a separate statement as well in its "national capacity".
The fourth meeting with members of the de facto Tskhinvali government, organised to ease recent tension at the occupation line, has ended without results. The situation became more tense at the end of August when the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali protested the opening of an ordinary police post in the village of Chorchana, Khashuri municipality, on Tbilisi administered territory.
De facto Security Committee of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region says that Tbilisi is getting ready for “a large-scale provocation” at the occupation line, near the villages of Chorchana and Tsnelisi.