October 2016, 4-5 in Geneva was held another round of discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia, attended by delegations of the Republic of South Ossetia, the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia, the Russian Federation, the United States, as well as the EU, UN and OSCE representatives.
South Ossetian delegation was headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia Murat Dzhioev.
Discussions were held in two working groups: on security and humanitarian issues.
The work of the first working group focused on the draft document on the non-use of force by Georgia against South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well as to ensure security and stability in the region. It was continued the work of the expert group, formed of representatives of all parties on a statement affirming the commitment of all participants in the talks to the principle of non-use of force as one of the basic provisions of international law.
Due to the lack of visible progress on this issue for quite a long time, the South Ossetian delegation made new proposals on the draft document, supported by the majority of discussion participants, and their discussion is expected at the next round.
Discussing the issues of security and stability in the areas adjacent to the South Ossetian-Georgian state border areas, participants in the discussion noted the success of the joint mechanisms to prevent and respond to incidents (IPRM), as well as the IPRM "hot line".
At the same time, serious concern was expressed in connection with the recent violations of the state border by representatives of the Georgian law enforcement agencies, as well as the attempts of the land development by Georgian citizens on the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia.
The delegation of South Ossetia reiterated an offer to the Georgian side to begin working together on the delimitation of the state border between South Ossetia and Georgia, which would solve many problems related to the lack of border agreements.
As an important component of the overall situation on the security and humanitarian situation there was a discussion of the issues related to the search for the abducted and missing citizens of South Ossetia on the territory of Georgia. The international mediators have assured to continue the work of a specially invited independent international OSCE expert on the missing persons from October 2016.
South Ossetian delegation expressed concern about the expansion of NATO's presence in Georgia, in particular, regarding the military exercises involving the development of joint offensive operations with the assistance of American heavy military equipment.
South Ossetian participants have noted the absolute inadmissibility of Georgia to discuss humanitarian issues in the absence of representatives of South Ossetia, including the problem of refugees and internally displaced persons on various international platforms, including the General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council. Such attempts have led previously to negative consequences, in particular, to the blocking of the discussion of these issues in the framework of the Geneva discussions. The refugee issue was not discussed at the last round, as the resumption of discussions on this subject can be possible only after the termination of its artificial politicization by Georgia.
When discussing cultural heritage was raised again the question of the necessity of returning to the territory of South Ossetia of the old icon-triptych, stolen from the South Ossetian Museum and now located in Georgia. Once again, attention was drawn to threat to the safety of the Ossetian historical - cultural monuments in the Eastern Ossetia (Truso Gorge), being under the control in Georgia, where is not allowed the previously repressed Ossetian population.
South Ossetian representatives particularly focused on the unacceptability of the Georgian regular attempts to create obstacles for international contacts of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including in the fields of culture and sports.
The next round of Geneva talks scheduled is for December 13-14, 2016.
