The Geneva discussions have practically returned to a normal working rhythm, State Advisor to President of the Republic of South Ossetia, the head of the South Ossetian delegation participating in the discussions, Konstantin Kochiev, said on Friday at the first meeting this year in Tskhinval with the EU, UN and OSCE co-chairs of the Geneva discussions .
He has noted that the discussions have no alternative as a negotiation platform providing direct dialogue between Tskhinval, Tbilisi, Sukhum and Moscow.
“We confirm the assessments of the significance of the Geneva process and note its role in strengthening the existing security structure. The experience of the Geneva Process shows that the participating parties can find solutions to controversial issues. The very fact that the process has existed and been successfully operating for 15 years allows us to maintain a certain stability in the region, which can already be considered as an important element of strengthening confidence in the stability of security in Transcaucasia,” Kochiev said.
During the meeting, the State Advisor noted the work of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRM) operating under the Geneva discussions.
“The team participating in the mechanisms has demonstrated many times the importance of promptly responding to misunderstandings that occur and has demonstrated its usefulness to the population on both sides of the border.
Even when the Geneva discussions were paused, the IPRM format continued to work on the border with Georgia. Of course, the mechanisms cannot replace, despite their importance, the Geneva format.
We hope that the new round of discussions will make a certain contribution to strengthening stability and security in the region,” the head of the delegation added.
Kochiev drew attention to the need to delimitate the border between South Ossetia and Georgia, as well as between Abkhazia and Georgia.
“This will prevent accidental incidents that occur due to misunderstandings at the border,” he said.
The State Advisor continued that the ongoing appeals to Georgia by foreign political figures to open a second front do not go unnoticed in South Ossetia.
“The Georgian authorities are also talking about this with concern, despite the fact that we can state stability on the border. At the moment, there are no indications that the Georgian authorities would like to begin military activity. However, we note the development of Georgia’s military cooperation with the foreign partners, which increases the existing security risks,” Kochiev has emphasized.
According to him, Georgia is building up its military muscles and this cannot but cause some concern. However, he noted the prudence shown by the neighbors and the obvious desire to avoid complicating the situation on the border line at the moment.
“This gives grounds for cautious optimism regarding the prospects for a constructive attitude of the participants in the Geneva process towards the work and interaction on the document on the non-use of force,” Kochiev has added.
He has expressed the hope that the participating parties will use the time of the next, 60th round for a constructive discussion of the agenda items.
As the EU co-chair Toivo Klaar has added to his colleague, Kochiev outlined the issues that will be discussed at the next meeting.
“No less important is that you noted the significance of the existence of the Geneva format. We completely agree with you on this and believe that it is necessary not only to support this format. Our common responsibility is to work for results,” Klaar said.
The UN Co-Chair Cihan Sultanoglu expressed gratitude for the warm welcome.
“As my colleagues have noted, we are here again to prepare for the next round of the Geneva discussions and we hope to breathe new impetus into our negotiations,” she said.
In turn, the OSCE Co-Chair Viorel Mosanu has noted that the agenda includes many issues on stability and security that require the attention of the participants. He also outlined the importance of the IPRM format and added that the next meeting within its framework was planned to be held on March 20.
