35th Geneva International Discussions ends positively:
Tbilisi-Abkhazia agree to restore talks in Gali
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The 35th round of Geneva International Discussions – the only international format of meetings addressing Georgia-Russia relations – has ended positively and the restoration of a special peace-building tool that’s been suspended for the past four years.
At yesterday’s meeting Tbilisi and de facto Abkhazia agreed to resume work of the International Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Gali, which was established for the purpose of addressing security concerns and ensuring protection of human rights in the occupied region.
The IPRM talks were suspended in April 2012 after Abkhazia refused to participate. At the time de facto Abkhazia declared former head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) Andrzej Tyszkiewicz as "persona non grata”.
At the time Abkhazia's de facto Foreign Ministry said Tyszkiewicz, a diplomat from Poland, had ignored Abkhazia’s requests and was "disrespectful to the Abkhaz nation".
The 35th round of Geneva International Discussions, also called Geneva Talks, launched after the 2008 war. The latest meeting was held yesterday, March 23.
The talks included negotiators from Georgia and Russia, as well as representatives from occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and co-chaired by United Nations (UN), Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and European Union (EU) officials.
The results of yesterday’s talks were welcomed by all those that attended the meeting, as well as official Tbilisi.
In a statement Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said the agreement was achieved as a result of "lengthy consultations and efforts”.
The restoration of the [IPRM meeting] was very positively assessed by co-chairs and attendees. After a four year break, restoration of this mechanism is a very serious step forward to ensuring stability in and near the conflict areas and protecting fundamental human rights,” said the Ministry.
As well as discussing the IPRM talks, the Georgian side raised several issues that continued to cause dissatisfaction.
Georgia spoke about Russia’s continuing violations in Georgia’s de facto regions, including unlawful military trainings on Georgian soil and the new regulations set by de facto leaders that violated fundamental human rights, rights of free movement and education of people living in the occupied regions.
The next round of Geneva International Discussions is scheduled for June 14-15, 2016.
- Since the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008 the Geneva International Discussions have been the only format of dialogue between Georgia and Russia. At the meeting, according to the August 12, 2008 Ceasefire Agreement, issues including non-use of force, creation of international security arrangements in breakaway Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, and safe and dignified return of IDPs and refugees are discussed.
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili believes the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) plays an important role in the prevention of security threats against Georgia.
A Georgian delegation led by First Deputy Foreign Minister David Dondua is in Switzerland where the 32nd round of the Geneva International Discussions convenes on June 30 and July 1.
A Georgian delegation led by First Deputy Foreign Minister David Dondua has departed for Switzerland where the 31st round of the Geneva International Discussions convene on March 17 and 18.
Georgia is blaming Russia for its "deliberate affront” to the international community and the peace process.
A Georgian citizen has been shot six times and killed by Russia's border guards patrolling the area between Georgia and breakaway Abkhazia region.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has today travelled to western Georgia’s Samegrelo region to personally grieve with the family of a young Georgian man who was killed near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating de facto Abkhazia region from the rest of Georgia on May 19.
Officials from Georgia, Russia, de-facto authorities from Georgia’s two breakaway regions and international conflict resolution experts are meeting this week to discuss the tense situation near Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
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Georgian officials have sat down with de facto Abkhazia leadership and European mediators for the latest round of the Geneva International Discussions, which ended poorly when the Russian and de facto sides walked out of the meeting in protest.
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Minister Paata Zakareishvili told media that Georgia asked the de facto Abkhazian authorities to hand the border guard over to Georgia to be tried for his crime however the de facto side refused this request.
De facto Abkhazia is still refusing to transfer the border guard who brutally killed a Georgian citizen near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) to the Georgian side to face charges.
The Government of Georgia has gifted a new home in west Georgia to the family of a man who was brutally slain near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating Georgia from its occupied Abkhazia region.
Representatives of the Government of Georgia have openly have condemned the recently ratified military deal between Russia and Georgia’s western de facto Abkhazia region at the 38th round of Geneva International Talks, which discuss Georgia’s conflict issues.
Austrian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman Sebastian Kurz has congratulated the Georgian people on yesterday’s historic vote to allow for visa-free travel to the Schengen Area.
An Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting was held yesterday in Gali in Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia, where the security conditions along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) were on the top of the agenda.
Yet another round of the Geneva International Discussions – the only international format of meetings addressing Georgia-Russia relations – began today, with security issues and the humanitarian situation in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), on the top of the agenda.