The Geneva talks on security in Transcaucasia are still important for South Ossetia, as it is one of the key factors of stability in the region.
This has been stated by the Presidential Envoy of South Ossetia on post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev at a joint briefing with the Co-Chairs of the Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia, who have arrived today in Tskhinval.
"We have expressed hope to make an important step at the upcoming round, at least in terms of the adoption of the joint statement by all the participants that they are committed to the principle of non-use of force - said Dzhioev. - This would be an important step towards the promotion of the main objectives of the Geneva discussions - the preparation of the bilateral agreement on non-use of force."
Dzhioev has noted that the South Ossetian side once again highlighted the fact that the citizens of South Ossetia, kept in prisons of Georgia, were convicted on trumped-up and politicized charges.
"Unfortunately, the amnesty, declared in Georgia, was notvirtually applied to them - said Dzhioev. - This issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the participants of the Mechanisms of Prevention and Reaction to Incidents (MPRI)."
In turn, the EU co-chair, Philippe Lefort said that during the 22 round of the Geneva talks
(December 2012), some progress had been reached on the development of the document on the non-use of force.
"We`ve discussed with the panel some questions, and we think we've found some ways for consensus", - said Lefort.
The UN co-Chair Anti Turunen has also identified that one of the main issues discussed during the International Geneva talks is the free movement of citizens.
"To date, we have developed a document on the free movement of citizens, which we will discuss in more detail at the next round of the Geneva talks," - said Turunen.
The OSCE co-Chair Andrew Deshitsa for his part stressed the importance of the MPRI working mechanism.
"The MPRI should be working regularly, because this mechanism makes it possible to solve vital issues - said Deshitsa. - But the most important thing is that any project should be implemented for the benefit of people. I mean the projects of water and gas supply, movement across the border, issues of detainees in Georgian prisons. All these issues we will discuss within the framework of the MPRI and at the Geneva talks. "
It should be noted that the co-chairmen of the Geneva discussions, during their visit to South Ossetia, met with the South Ossetian participants of the Geneva talks, the guests were also received by the President of the Republic Leonid Tibilov.
