The co-chairs of the Geneva discussions visited Sukhumi and Tskhinvali

Co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions – EU Special Representative for Crisis Management in the South Caucasus and Georgia Toivo Klaar and UN Representative Cihan Sultanoglu visited the occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.

Meeting in Sukhumi
On November 9, in Sukhumi, the co-chairs of the Geneva discussions met with the “deputy minister of foreign affairs” of Abkhazia, Irakli Tuzhba. According to the Abkhaz Foreign Ministry, the main topic of discussion was the 57th round of the Geneva discussions. In this context, Tuzhba noted that at this stage, the agreement on the non-use of force remains the main issue on the agenda of discussions.

Tuzhba noted that progress in this direction has not been achieved and the reason for this is the “destructive position” of Georgia.

According to him, “under conditions when there is a high probability of an escalation of tension in the region due to the military activity of Georgia, the agreement and signing of a document on the non-use of force is becoming more relevant.”

Tuzhba also raised the issue of freedom of movement for persons with “Abkhazian citizenship” and stressed that in this context, “the issue of recognizing Abkhazian national passports as documents for moving around the world is being updated.”

According to him, discriminatory approaches are used against Abkhazia and “this is a very serious humanitarian problem that needs to be addressed.”

The discussion at the meeting also touched upon the necessary steps to update the work of the Gali Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism. Gali meetings have been suspended since 2018, when Russian and Abkhaz participants left the 57th meeting due to disagreements over the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list.

Meeting in Tskhinvali
According to the Foreign Ministry of the Tskhinvali region, at a meeting on November 8 in Tskhinvali, they stressed the need to strengthen the existing system of regional security and stability and once again confirmed the position on the need to sign an agreement on the non-use of force.

Tskhinvali also confirmed its readiness to work in the format of international discussions in Geneva, “despite the difficult geopolitical situation in the world.”

In this context, they stressed the importance of the IPRM and hotline, which are used regularly.

Like Tuzhba, representatives of Tskhinvali also expressed concern “in connection with the ongoing military development of the territory of Georgia by foreign states” and said that biological laboratories in Georgia pose a threat.

At the meeting in Tskhinvali, the issue of a police checkpoint in the Chorchana-Tsnelisi region was also raised.

According to available information, the 57th round of the Geneva discussions will take place in February 2023.