65th Round of Geneva International Discussions

The 65th round of Geneva International Discussions (GID), a multilateral format to address the security and humanitarian consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, was held on November 11-12 in Geneva.

Georgian MFA Statement

The Georgian delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia, reiterated the need for the “full implementation” of the EU-brokered 2008 ceasefire agreement by Russia, as well as the “safe and dignified” return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes, according to the Georgian press release.

The Ministry’s statement said that the Georgian delegation emphasized the importance of restoring the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in Gali “without any preconditions,” and ensuring the continued operation of both the Gali and Ergneti IPRMs.

“The Georgian side sharply raised the issue of the grave security, humanitarian, and human rights situation in the occupied regions, as well as the destructive actions of the occupation regimes,” the press release added, noting “concern was expressed” over recent actions such as the unlawful opening of the Sokhumi airport, the launch of regular flights, and the resumption of rail and maritime passenger traffic from Russia to Sokhumi.

The Georgian MFA said that representatives of Russia and the occupied regimes, “as is customary,” walked out when the issue of returning internally displaced persons and refugees from the occupied territories to their homes was raised.

“As a result, the 65th round of negotiations collapsed, just like previous rounds,” the MFA added.

Geneva Co-Chairs Communique

In their press communiqué, the GID Co-Chairs said the participants reiterated their “commitment to this important process, emphasizing once again the need for the talks to make tangible progress and deliver on its core agenda items for the benefit of all those affected by conflict.”

In the first working group, focusing on peace and security matters, the participants “continued their discussions with a particular focus on non-use of force and international security arrangements” and “also exchanged views on and reiterated their desire to further explore a possible political statement on non-use of force as a step, which would stress their respective commitments to this principle.”

In the second working group, focusing on humanitarian concerns, discussions addressed crossings, documentations, livelihoods, and missing persons, as well as freedom of movement and external mobility within and outside the region.

“Due to a walkout by some participants, the agenda item ‘returns’ of internally displaced persons and refugees could not be discussed. In this context, the Co-Chairs call on participants to address all agenda items without preconditions,” the Co-Chairs noted.

“The participants expressed interest in continuing the practice of holding information sessions and discussed potential concrete topics for the next rounds.”

Russian MFA Statement

The Russian delegation was headed by Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the participants reaffirmed their “unwavering commitment” to continuing work within the GID, calling it “the only multilateral negotiating platform ensuring ongoing direct dialogue between Sokhumi and Tskhinvali and Tbilisi on the post-conflict restoration of relations between them.”

“The Russian side emphasized the importance of quickly developing concrete measures to achieve the GID’s primary goal – ensuring lasting security for Abkhazia and South Ossetia through the adoption of a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force between Georgia and these two republics,” the press release of the Russian MFA said, adding “Its signing would, in particular, serve as a practical embodiment of Tbilisi’c conciliatory rhetoric toward Abkhaz and South Ossetian peoples.”

“The urgency of such a step is growing against the backdrop of inflammatory calls from outside for Georgia to reclaim its ‘breakaway regions’ by military force, as well as NATO’s overt plans to ‘develop’ this state, including holding exercises and other military training activities on its territory,” Russia claimed.

While noting “relative calm” on the ground, Moscow emphasized the importance of resuming the Gali IPRM and “beginning the delimitation of Georgia’s state borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia with their subsequent demarcation.”

It further identified as the “main obstacle” to the negotiation process “the extremely politicized resolution of the UN General Assembly on internally displaced persons and refugees, which is annually introduced by Georgia and ignores geopolitical realities.”

Moscow also pushed to move the discussions from Geneva to a “truly neutral” location, saying, “Given Switzerland’s loss of its declared neutral status due to its adherence to the EU’s illegal anti-Russian sanctions, Moscow, with the support of Sokhumi and Tskhinvali, is proceeding from the need to move the GID meetings from Geneva to another location that is truly neutral and acceptable to all participants.”

Abkhaz Participants

Abkhaz participants were represented by de facto foreign minister Oleg Bartsits.

“We once again emphasized our commitment to the peace plan and to advancing our initiatives to sign a legally binding agreement on the non-use of military force,” Bartits said, according to local media.

“Georgia’s attempts to ignore the new realities that have emerged in the region, namely the existence of two neighboring states – Abkhazia and South Ossetia – are absolutely futile,” he added.

South Ossetian Participants

The participants from the occupied Tskhinvali region were headed by the advisor to the de facto president, Konstantin Kochiev.

They also insisted that launching talks on “delimitation and subsequent demarcation” of a so-called border with Georgia is essential for stability and security. They also argued that regional security “directly depends” on Georgia’s commitments to the non-use of force.

During the discussions on humanitarian issues, the participants from the occupied regions said that “once again, the most serious attention was drawn to Georgia’s ongoing gross violations of the rights of Ossetians native to the Kazbegi region (Tyrsygom), who have been denied access to their ancestral places by the Georgian authorities for many years.”

No discussion of the IDP issue took place. The representatives from the occupied regions said talks on IDPs would resume only if Georgia stopped what they called the “politicization” of the matter.

The next round of the Geneva International Discussions was scheduled for March 2026.

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