On the 22 round of Geneva international talks on security and stability in Transcaucasia
December 12, 2012 a new meeting of the international talks on security and stability in Transcaucasia has been completed in Geneva. The meeting was attended by delegations of the Republic of South Ossetia, the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia, the Russian Federation, the United States, as well as the EU, the UN and the OSCE representatives. South Ossetian delegation was headed by Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev.
The key question of the 22th round was protection and non-use of force by Georgia against South Ossetia and Abkhazia in accordance with the Medvedev - Sarkozy agreement on August 12 and September 8, 2008. It was noted that the situation in the region after the twenty-first round of the discussions was characterized as relatively stable, but some incidents have caused concern. South Ossetian delegation drew the attention of the participants to the incident on November 24, when a resident of the South Ossetian village ofMugut was blown up by a mine left on August 2008. This is one more confirmation of the fact that during the aggression against South Ossetia, Georgia has used the cluster munitions banned by the international conventions. South Ossetian delegation also described the incident on December 2 near the village of Koda as a deliberate provocation by the Georgian side in the area of the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia.
As an important step in the direction to the main task of the talks-a legally binding document on the non-use of force by Georgia against South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia, as the internationally legal guarantees of security for the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,- the South Ossetian delegation supported the updated proposal of the Russian side, taking into account the bids, the draft statement of the talks` participants about the commitment to the principles of non-aggression and offered to adopt it. It was also continued the experts work on the harmonization of the text of the joint statement.
South Ossetian delegation has brought up a question of the fate of the missing citizens of South Ossetia since the 2008 war, most of which are confirmed to be in the hands of the law enforcement agencies of Georgia. In consideration of the new situation in the political life of Georgia, representatives of South Ossetia have again focused on the issue of the South Ossetian citizens kept in the Georgian prisons. It was sounded that the criminal cases of which the citizens of South Ossetia were sentenced to life and long terms, were fabricated by the Georgian authorities, and were obviously of politicized nature. South Ossetian representatives have appealed to Georgia to reconsider these unjust judgments.
The participants noted the usefulness of the joint mechanism on prevention and reaction to incidents in the border area of the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of its work.
Proceeding from the previous meetings held within the framework of the Geneva talks, the South Ossetian and Abkhaz delegations suggested holding the final joint meeting, which would increase the efficiency of the discussion. However, the non-constructive position of the Georgian delegation has not led to a consensus on this issue.
Within the frames of the twenty-second round of talks, the international experts have held the info briefing on the evaluation of the population's needs.
The next meeting in Geneva is scheduled for the end of March 2013.
Geneva, 12 December 2012
