The security situation on the borders of the South Caucasus countries remains generally stable and predictable, although growing cooperation between NATO and Georgia has a destabilizing effect on it, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on Oct. 8 to sum up the outcomes of the Geneva discussions on security and stability in the oblast.
“It was emphasized that the beginning of the so-called Substantial NATO-Georgia Package’s practical implementation, the opening of the alliance’s training and evaluation center at the end of August, and U.S. plans to expand the scope of joint military exercises on Georgian territory, including the practicing of elements of the accelerated transfer of troops and military hardware from Europe, have a destabilizing effect on the security situation in the region,” it said.
“This does not meet Tbilisi’s obligations for military restraint adopted in line with the Aug. 12, 2008 agreements,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The negotiations in Geneva took place on Oct. 6-7. They were attended by representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia and the U.S., with the UN’s, the OSCE’s and the EU’s co-chairmanship.
The participants in the meeting also attached significance to “provocations organized by Georgian radicals on a number of Georgian-South Ossetian border sections in July this year in light of its continued equipment by the Republic of South Ossetia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“Tskhinvali representatives warned Tbilisi that violations of the border regime by the Georgian side and the unsanctioned dismantling of information signs installed on the republic’s territory is unacceptable,” it said.
The participants in the talks also emphasized the priority of signing legally binding agreements on the non-use of force between Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia to maintain durable peace and stability in the oblast. Abkhaz and South Ossetian representatives reaffirmed their willingness to conclude such documents, but Georgia blocked the issue, it said.
The meeting participants also praised the regular activities of the joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) near the border between South Ossetia and Georgia, and the efficient interaction between the parties through hotlines. They spoke in favor of “continuing a search for a compromise option in settling the long-standing problem of IPRM resumption in the Abkhaz border town of Gall,” it said.
At the South Ossetian delegation’s proposal, the negotiators exchanged opinions on visa discrimination against Abkhaz and South Ossetian citizens by some European Union countries and the U.S., it said.
The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8-9, 2015, the Foreign Ministry said.
