The South Ossetian party intends to defuse the current situation through diplomatic methods, the dialogue within the framework of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRM) will continue, said Murat Dzhioev, Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement at the end of the third technical meeting in the border village of Ergneti.
According to Dzhioev, one issue was discussed at the meeting - the situation in the area of the village of Uista (Tsnelis), where the Georgian security forces had put up a police post.
He has reminded that at the last meeting the parties agreed to continue discussion of the situation, to hold consultations on possible ways to defuse the situation.
"The discussion on Friday lasted about three hours, but, unfortunately, the Georgian party remains in its position and does not intend to remove the post, which was illegally put up in the South Ossetian territory," the Envoy said.
The position of South Ossetia remains the same - the illegal post, put up under cover of night, is a hotbed of destabilization in the region as a whole, and it should be removed, especially since the post is located in the territory of South Ossetia.
According to him, the Georgian party has repeatedly stated that the post will not threaten the villagers, there will be no more than 13 people, etc.
"We hold the position that the post is a factor of destabilization and its presence in the South Ossetian territory is impossible, and it must be removed. As for the South Ossetian post, it was put up by the border services of South Ossetia in accordance with the legislation of the Republic on its territory and exclusively with peaceful intentions for ensuring security and stability in the area, "said Dzhioev.
Results and continuation of the dialogue
The South Ossetian party noted the need to continue the dialogue; they agreed to hold the next technical meeting within the framework of the IPRM in a week.
“It was decided that the meeting participants would not escalate the situation and provide only objective information. In addition, we agreed that the EU Monitoring Mission, which has a mandate to work in Georgia, will not enter South Ossetia, including on the right bank of the village of Uista, and will proceed from the humanitarian needs of the population of this region,” the Envoy said.
In addition, the parties decided that the “hotline “should work more actively.
The Plenipotentiary has also noted that there is a clear, well-grounded position - this is the territory of South Ossetia and the Republic is ready for dialogue on the state border line.
“Since 2009, we have been repeatedly proposing to sit at the negotiating table on all the issues, including on the state border line between Tsnelis and Chorchana. If the Georgian side believes that this post was put up for the safety of residents of the Georgian villages, then it should be installed near the Georgian villages and in Georgia,” Dzhioev noted.
He considers the main result of the last technical meeting - the continuation of the dialogue, "it is important that the bridges are not cut off for further conversation."
