The Geneva discussions and the IPRM format are of great importance. According to Eurasia Daily, this was said by the co-chair of the European Union, Toivo Claar, at the meeting of the Abkhaz delegation with the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia.
"It is in our common interest to do everything possible to ensure that the Geneva discussions and the format of the IPRM function in the best way and bear fruit," he said.
Abkhazian Foreign Minister Daur Cove, in his turn, has expressed concern over how the Georgian side promotes and implements the process with the so-called "Otkhozoriya-Tatunashvili" list.
"Unfortunately, we see that Georgia is trying to politicize the issue of Otkhozoriya-Tatunashvili, thereby seriously damaging the work of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and the Geneva format as a whole," Cove said.
The Minister has expressed the hope that the rich professional experience of the new co-chairs will provide an opportunity to move forward and achieve positive results at the Geneva discussions.
"Due to the fact that specific names were included in the list of Otkhozoriya-Tatunashvili, we were forced to suspend the previous round of the IPRM, which takes place in the city of Gal," said Daur Cove.
The head of the Abkhaz Foreign Ministry has stressed that the suspension of the work of the IPRM format is of a technical nature.
"We have always expressed and express our interest in continuing the IPRM format, as well as the International Geneva Discussions. To my great regret, on the initiative of Georgia, two citizens of South Ossetia, those included in the list of Otkozoriya-Tatunashvili, were placed on the international wanted list through Interpol, which led to the disruption of the recent meeting in the framework of the IPRM in Ergneti, "he said.
Cove asked the co-chairs to inform the representatives of Georgia that such provocative actions, which undermine the whole negotiating process within the framework of the Geneva discussions, are harmful.
In turn, Toivo Claar has stressed that the Geneva discussions and the IPRM format are of great importance. "It is in our common interest to do everything possible to ensure that the Geneva discussions and the IPRM format function in the best way and bear fruit," he said.
The UN co-chairman, Cihan Sultanoglu, for her part, has noted that her appointment to this post is a confirmation of the UN commitment to the successful work of the Geneva discussions.
She has also noted that the UN Secretary General called on all negotiators to use a constructive approach to get the best results in the work of the Geneva discussions.
"Our position is to encourage participants to use a pragmatic approach, to interact openly in all matters. First of all, I am here to listen to the suggestions of all the participants and jointly think about how to breathe new life into the work of the Geneva discussions. Let me confirm once again my commitment to this process and I hope that together we will be able to make progress, "she said.
It should be noted that recently Cihan Sultanoglu and Rudolf Michalka have become the newUN and OSCE co-chairs.
