The South Ossetian side considers the participation in the Geneva discussions useful and advocates continuing the dialogue and finding new ways to increase efficiency and advance work in this format.
This is stated in the statement by the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the format.
The Geneva discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia were created on October 15, 2008 after Georgia's armed attack on South Ossetia and forcing the aggressor to peace, in accordance with the Medvedev-Sarkozy agreements.
The Geneva discussions are currently the only international format for maintaining direct dialogue between South Ossetia and Abkhazia with Georgia. Delegations of three countries, Russia, the USA, as well as representatives of the EU, UN and OSCE take part in them on an equal basis.
The main task of the format is to ensure the security of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, excluding the possibility of a resumption of hostilities. In this context, the key objective of the discussions is to develop and sign bilateral legally binding agreements with Georgia on the non-use of force.
To date, the negotiation process has 58 rounds. The next round will take place in December this year.
In 2009, as a result of the agreements reached within the framework of the Geneva discussions, the Joint Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was also created and launched on the Georgian-South Ossetian border to resolve emerging disputes and incidents. A round-the-clock "hotline" has been created. The regular work of the IPRM is the integral element of stability, security and trust in the region.
