Tbilisi demands resumption of incident prevention meetings with Russian-occupied Tskinvali

Tbilisi has demanded the resumption of Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meetings amid the shooting and illegal detention of Georgian citizen Zaza Gakheladze by the de facto authorities of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region on July 11.

The Georgian State Security Service says that the demand was made via the EUMM Georgia hotline. 

We have received no response so far,” the agency said, adding that the resumption of the meetings are ‘critically important’ for discussing Gakheladze’s case and other, local, conflict-related issues. 

The Ergneti IPRM meetings, with the involvement of de facto authorities, central government of Georgia and the European Union Monitoring Mission, were suspended last year. 

On August 29, 2019  Tskhinvali demanded the Georgian checkpoint in Chorchana (on the Tbilisi-controlled territory) be dismantled and left the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meeting in protest, citing ‘security threats’ created by the new checkpoint as the reason.

Tbilisi refused to dismantle the checkpoint.