The next round of the Geneva discussions on Transcaucasia is planned to be held in July this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
“The next meeting in Geneva is scheduled for July 2019,” the message said on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which was published following a consultation in Geneva of this format on April 2-3.
Representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia and the USA took part in the discussions. Russia was represented at this meeting by Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin.
"Representatives of Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia once again have emphasized that the military activity of the United States and NATO in Georgia is currently the main threat to regional security," the agency said, noting that three delegations stressed the need for a joint statement on the non-use of force.
The ministry has also added that representatives of Tbilisi and Washington actually revived the 10 years ago phraseology about the need to withdraw the Russian armed forces from "the entire Georgian territory", the creation of "international security measures", with the result that the discussion came to a standstill.
However, the majority of participants have acknowledged that the situation on the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with Georgia is stable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The participants in the Geneva discussions confirmed their intention to further search for ways to solve humanitarian problems, including in the field of environmental safety, preservation of cultural heritage, search for missing persons, education," the agency added.
The Geneva discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia have been regularly held since October 2008. To date, this is the only platform for dialogue between representatives of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Georgia.
One of the main issues is the signing of a document on the non-use of force. Moscow, Tskhinval and Sukhum urge Tbilisi to sign an agreement on the non-use of force, but Georgia, which does not recognize the independence of its former autonomies, insists that Russia should make a commitment to the non-use of force. South Ossetia and Abkhazia emphasized that Georgia should conclude this agreement with the two republics, but not with the Russian Federation, which is not a party to the conflict.
