Eighth Round of Talks Planned in Geneva

The Georgian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria left for Geneva to participate in the eighth round of talks, launched after the August war.

Bokeria said that the participants of the talks on November 11 would discuss the document on future security architecture which should be submitted by co-mediators from EU, OSCE and UN.

Negotiators from the Georgian, Russian, the U.S., as well as representatives of the breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia authorities discussed elements of a potential agreement on non-use of force during the seventh round of Geneva talks in September.

Georgia says that such agreement should only be signed between Russia and Georgia and it should also envisage “de-occupation” of Georgia’s two breakaway regions. Russia has long been insisting on the need of signing of non-use of force agreements between Tbilisi and Sokhumi, as well as between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali.

“It is principally important that this document is signed or approved by the representatives of Georgia, on the one hand, and the representatives of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on the other,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in his article published by Russian daily Izvestia on November 10.

Karasin, who leads the Russian delegation at talks, also marked “constructive” role of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia.

Meanwhile, Giga Bokeria said that the existing security system fails to sufficiently provide stability in the conflict zones that is confirmed by “constant kidnappings”, including the recent detention of Georgian teenagers, who still remain held in Tskhinvali. He said that the Georgian side would raise this issue in Geneva.

“We are dealing with the most alarming tragic case because it concerns teenagers,” Bokeria said. “But it is a part of general picture which confirms that the existing security architecture does not provide an opportunity to defend human rights both inside and outside the occupied territories.”

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)