The 51st round of Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia was the only one in person since the beginning of the pandemic, - the head of the South Ossetian delegation, the of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev told IA “Res ".
If during the year there were usually four rounds, then the coronavirus pandemic, which swept the whole world, including South Ossetia, made its own adjustments, and the discussions were held in the format of videoconferences.
“Even in the context of a difficult epidemiological situation, within the framework of the Geneva Discussions, the was ongoing throughout the year, and during this time there were three face-to-face meetings with the delegations of the co-chairs, and these are representatives of three major international organizations - the EU, UN and OSCE. Also, this year, four videoconferences were held to discuss issues that were usually raised at face-to-face rounds. As practice shows, face-to-face rounds are much more effective, because all delegations are present there, and videoconferences are held in a bilateral format,” the Plenipotentiary stressed.
Murat Dzhioev believes that face-to-face formats are important for South Ossetia, since the Geneva Discussions are actually the only international platform where representatives of the RSO can voice the position of their state on ensuring security and resolving relations with neighboring Georgia.
“Therefore, the last recent single round was of special importance for us. We reviewed the situation during the year and called it stable-tense. Moreover, the tension was linked, first of all, with construction of the illegal police post by the Georgian side on the territory of South Ossetia near the village of Uista (Tsnelis) in August of last year,” the Plenipotentiary said.
The South Ossetian side considers the presence of this post as a factor destabilizing the situation along the entire perimeter of the South Ossetian-Georgian state border.
“We have once again voiced our position - to remove the post and begin joint work on the delimitation and demarcation of the state border, which, first of all, is a security factor contributing to stabilization in the areas adjacent to the border. The presence of the post is associated with fears not only among the Ossetian border population, but also among the Georgian one, and above all the village of Chorchana, the residents of which are even afraid to go to the forest to collect firewood, ”said Dzhioev.
According to the diplomat, the presence of the post does not solve any practical problems, except for the manifestation of the political ambitions of the Georgian leadership.
Therefore, the South Ossetian delegation again appealed to the international mediators to assist in removing the illegal post in Uista , as well as in removing it from the territory of South Ossetia.
