Deputy FM: Russia “plainly” saw Georgia has “strong support” of its partners, at Geneva International Discussions

Georgian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lasha Darsalia on Wednesday said during today’s round of the Geneva International Discussions “Russia saw plainly that Georgia is not alone and enjoys the strong support of its partners”.

In his comments to the media, Darsalia called the Discussions - a platform facilitating talks between the Georgian Government and de facto authorities in the country’s occupied regions - a “rather difficult round”.

He emphasised that the Russian delegation had once again shown a “destructive approach to all major issues”, including the provision of security, improving human rights situation in the occupied territories, as well as the fulfilment of the EU-mediated Six-Point Agreement of 2008 on ceasefire.

• Deputy FM: “all responsibility” for Georgia’s occupied territories rests with Russia

As in all previous rounds of the Geneva format, the Russian side left the negotiating table while discussing the return of internally displaced persons, Darsalia stressed, especially emphasising the “steadfast stance” of Georgia’s partners, including the United States and the EU, in the negotiation process on both humanitarian and security issues.

Georgia has had full support [of the partners], which gives us reason to say that it's only a matter of time before Russia is forced to come back and sit at the [negotiating] table for discussing these issues, the issues related to the fulfilment of the Six-Point [ceasefire] Agreement, improving the legal status of people on the ground [in Georgia’s Russian occupied territories]”, the Deputy FM noted.