On December 5-6, the 59th round of the Geneva International Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia (MZHD) was held in Geneva with the participation of representatives of the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia, the Republic of South Ossetia, the Russian Federation and the United States under the co-chairmanship of the UN, OSCE and the EU. The Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Galuzin.
A common interest was expressed in maintaining the Geneva format as a multilateral negotiating platform for maintaining regular dialogue on various aspects of security in the South Caucasus. The Russian side stressed the importance of continuing Tbilisi’s contacts with Sukhum and Tskhinval under the auspices of the Ministry of Railways in order to begin substantive work as soon as possible on concluding a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force by Georgia against Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as launching the process of delimiting the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian state borders with their subsequent demarcation.
The need to further strengthen the security of Sukhum and Tskhinvali is dictated by the increasing activity of NATO in the Black Sea region, the implementation of plans for the military development of Georgia by the alliance, and the pumping of modern weapons into this country.
The participants agreed that the situation “on the ground” in the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian borderlands, with the exception of individual incidents, remains stable on the whole. The reliable functioning of subscriber communication points – “hotlines” and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (MPRI) on the Georgian-South Ossetian border in the locality of Ergnet was noted with satisfaction. At the same time, the importance of the early resumption of the work of a similar MPRI on the Georgian-Abkhazian border in the locality of Gal was noted.
Georgia’s politicized annual resolution of the UN General Assembly on internally displaced persons and refugees remains a serious irritant hindering cooperation on humanitarian issues in Geneva. At a time when representatives of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are still denied access to the New York site, and therefore they cannot present their principled approaches there, the Russian, Abkhazian and South Ossetian sides have once again raised the issue of ending discriminatory practices against Sukhum and Tskhinvali, which makes it impossible to constructively discuss these issues in the future. within the framework of the MZhD.
An agreement was reached on holding the next round in April 2024 and further regular meetings in the format of international discussions on Transcaucasia.
