Participants in the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia noted the effectiveness of the meeting with members of the South Ossetian delegation held in Tskhinval. They announced this at a briefing.
"Today we had a rather fruitful meeting on the threshold of preparations for the next round of the Geneva discussions, scheduled for early December. We have discussed constructively enough the issues that will be discussed in Geneva, "said the EU Co-Chair Toivo Claar.
The diplomat has also commented on two shooting cases that took place in October on the state border between South Ossetia and Georgia.
"At a recent meeting within the framework of the IPRM, this issue was discussed and, of course, we have stressed that such property damage must not be repeated," Claar said.
Commenting on the question of the involvement of the Georgian side in this incident, the Western diplomat preferred to dispense with streamlined wording. "We were talking about the fact that it was not entirely clear which side fired the shots, from what distance, and for what purpose," Claar said.
He has added that at the previous round in Geneva the discussion of adherence to the principle of non-use of force was held in a very constructive atmosphere.
"But I would not speculate on what will happenat the next round of the Geneva discussions," the diplomat said.
The OSCE co-chairman Gunter Bekhler told journalists about the issues concerning the fate of missing citizens of South Ossetia.
"We raise these issues at the meetings in the framework of the Geneva discussions and the IPRM," Bechler said. – An independent expert Dusan Ignatovich prepared two reports on this issue. In December he will come to Georgia, he will also come to South Ossetia to meet with Mr. Dzhioev. "
According to Behler, the expert is in close contact with the Georgian government, and also interacts with the Red Cross mission to make progress on this issue.
The UN Co-Chair Antti Turunen, in turn, has stressed that his period of office is coming to an end, and therefore he summed up the activities of the format of the Geneva discussions.
"The commitment to the Geneva discussions and the MPRI has been strengthened," Turunen said. - Many specific issues can be resolved and have been solved at the local level. We should also note a very good working atmosphere on some bilateral issues at the Geneva discussions. And this gives me hope that many issues can be solved gradually. I hope that the results will be achieved. "
The Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev has added that during today's talks the South Ossetian side expressed hope for the successful work of the upcoming round in Geneva.
"It would be nice if, at this round, we finally agree on a joint statement of all the participants about the commitment to the principle of non-use of force, the work on which has been going on for a long time and is almost drawing to a close," Dzhioev said.
According to the Envoy, the adoption of the joint statement will be a step towards developing bilateral agreements on the non-use of force, which will have legally binding and solid international guarantees.
