On December 7-8, 2021, the regular round of International Discussions on Security in the Transcaucasus, held on the bases of the agreements adopted on August 12 and September 8, 2008, took place at the Geneva Palace of Nations. The negotiations were attended by delegations from the Republic of South Ossetia, the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia, the Russian Federation, the United States, as well as representatives of the EU, UN and OSCE.
The work took place in two groups: on security and on humanitarian issues.
The first working group discussed regional security issues.
The participants in the discussions focused on the need to develop a legally binding document to guarantee the security of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia’s non-use of force or the threat of the use of force. Such a document could become the basis for maintaining stability and strengthening the existing security structure in the region. The urgency of the adoption of such a document is even more growing against the background of the continuing build-up of Georgia’s military potential and the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance’s activity in the region. The Co-Chairs of the Geneva Discussions informed the participants about conceptual ideas for a new draft document, which was promised to be presented at the next round.
Discussing the issues of stability and security in the area of the South Ossetian-Georgian border, the participants of the meeting noted the absence of serious incidents lately. At the same time, the extremely negative impact on the state of affairs of the illegally established post near the Ossetian border village of Uista was emphasized. The South Ossetian delegation drew the attention of the participants to the need for delimitation and subsequent demarcation of the border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia.This would become a serious factor in strengthening security and stability in the region and would meet the interests of the population living on both sides of the South Ossetian-Georgian state border.
During the discussion, the effectiveness and expediency of continuing the work of the Mechanism for the Prevention and Response to Incidents in the South Ossetian-Georgian Border Area (IPRM) and the hotline operating in this format was noted.
A detailed conversation on humanitarian issues took place, priority in which was paid to the fate of the missing citizens of South Ossetia.
Moreover, attention was once again drawn to the continuing violation by Georgia of the rights of the Tyrsygom Ossetians, who have been unable to gain access to their ancestral villages over the past years.
They also exchanged views on a number of other humanitarian issues, among which the discussion of the spread of COVID-19 took an important place. The Ossetian and Abkhazian participants again raised the issue of the discriminatory nature of the visa policy of a number of states in relation to the residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Discussion on the problem of refugees was not held at the completed round. The resumption of discussions on the topic of refugees will be possible if Georgia stops the ongoing artificial politicization of this problem.
The next meeting of the Geneva Discussions is scheduled to take place in March 2022.
Geneva, 8 December 2021