At the meeting in the format of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), South Ossetia announced the increased provocative incidents on the border with Georgia, said Yegor Kochiev, the head of the South Ossetian delegation to the IPRM.
"One of the latest cases of shooting became outrageous. That is why we insisted on holding a meeting, which took place in compliance with all security measures in connection with the threat of the spread of coronavirus. At the meeting were discussed security issues, violations of the state border, the illegal post of the Georgian police in the village of Uista, which is one of the most urgent, "Kochiev told reporters after the meeting on Thursday.
He has added that in connection with this post in August last year, seven technical meetings were held within the framework of the IPRM, at which the only issue was raised - the post in the village of Uista.
“The last meeting took place at the end of 2019. The parties did not come to a common denominator, but the position of the South Ossetian leadership remained unchanged - the illegal post should be removed from the territory of South Ossetia. This decision will be considered as the first step of goodwill on the part of Georgia to strengthen confidence-building measures to each other and further advance diplomatic efforts to resolve bilateral differences, "the Deputy Envoy said.
During the dialogue, which lasted almost six hours, the parties discussed violations of the airspace of South Ossetia. As noted by Kochiev, the South Ossetian party raised questions about flights not only of unmanned aerial vehicles, but also of manned aerial vehicles.
"Such violations of the airspace are also recorded in the area of the village of Uista, where the situation remains hot, and flights of any aircraft can lead to an incident. And the responsibility for this will rest with the party, the aircraft of which are in this area, and there are always only the Georgian ones, "Kochiev said.
As for the removal of the illegal post in the village of Uista, no positive decisions were reached at today's meeting. Kochiev believes that it is necessary to continue the dialogue in this direction, the position of South Ossetia is being brought to the attention of the Georgian party. "I think that, in the end, this issue will be resolved through peaceful negotiations," he said.
Following the results of the meeting, the parties agreed on a preliminary date for the next meeting in compliance with all safety standards - September 24. "Everything will depend on the situation with the epidemic and security," he explained.
The 96th meeting in the IPRM format was held with the participation of the new head of the EU Observer Mission Marek Schigal.
