Security issues at the state border of South Ossetia with Georgia were discussed at the first meeting in 2019 within the framework of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRM).
According to the head of the South Ossetian delegation in the format of IPRM Egor Kochiev, since the previous meeting, have been recorded 11 violations of the state border of the Republic by citizens of Georgia.
Kochiev has noted that the South Ossetian party focused on the misinformation spread by the Georgian media.
“Mass media in Georgia are spreading misinformation that people are allegedly abducted in South Ossetia, that we are starving and we have almost a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.
He has added that in the course of the meeting the Georgian party tried once again to raise the issue of the Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili.
"We, in turn, said that all the materials on the Tatunashvili case were handed over to the Georgian side and protested about the discussion of this issue within the framework of the IPRM, since it no longer has any relation to this issue," he stressed.
According to the Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy. referring to the dates when the crossing points of the South Ossetian state border with Georgia will be opened, the solution of this issue depends on the epidemic situation in Georgia.
“As soon as the epidemic situation in Georgia normalizes, the road is likely to be opened. This decision was made at the highest level, and the issue will be solved at the same level,” Kochiev said.
He has added that the Georgian side also informed the South Ossetian participants of the meeting about the NATO exercises, which will be held in Georgia in March.
Meetings in the format of the IPRM are held on a regular basis since 2009. Representatives of South Ossetia, Russia and Georgia traditionally participate in them. They are conducted through the mediation of the OSCE and the European Union.
The South Ossetian delegation in the format of the IPRR is headed by the Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement, Yegor Kochiev.
