Georgia blocks statement by Geneva consultations' participants on non-use of force - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - The parties to the Geneva consultations on the South Caucasus failed to coordinate a statement on the non-use of force at the round held on December 13-14 because of the stance of Georgia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The statement by the parties on the non-use of force was high on the agenda. Alas, the neutral status edition of the document proposed by the cochairmen in the end was again blocked by the Georgian side. Once more, Tbilisi tried to push for the 'international security mechanisms' phrase for the purpose of intrusive monitoring in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It was agreed to consider the issue again at the next round," the ministry said in a report posted on its website on Wednesday.
The parties unanimously said that the situation on the borders between Georgia, for one part, and Abkhazia and South Ossetia, for the other part, was generally stable. "Despite certain incidents, free movement of residents of border regions of the three states is being maintained at an appropriate level," the report said.
"The delegations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia called attention to the ongoing unfriendly moves made by Tbilisi at various international platforms in the absence of representatives of Sukhum and Tskhinval. Being purely propagandist, the Georgian 'initiatives' put forward at the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe have no practical value for the population of the region. At the same time, the politicized Georgian remarks seriously complicate the atmosphere of the Geneva format," the ministry said.
The delegations of Abkhazia, Russia and South Ossetia reiterated their serious concern about the ongoing NATO military exercises in Georgia, which had been held thrice during the year, the ministry said.
"The participants in the Geneva consultations confirmed their readiness to search for solutions to humanitarian issues. They noted a number of positive reciprocal steps helping fulfillment of concrete tasks in the search for missing persons, exchange of archives, ecology, preservation of cultural heritage and freedom of movement," the report said.
The consultations involved representatives of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the United States and South Ossetia and cochairmen from the UN, the OSCE and the EU. State Secretary - Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin was in charge of the Russian delegation.