Geneva consultations on S. Caucasus may continue once special operation in Ukraine is over - Georgian parliament speaker

TBILISI. April 26 (Interfax) - The Geneva Consultations on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus have been put on hold over the situation unfolding in Ukraine, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said.

"The suspension of the Geneva format is understandable. The special operation in Ukraine must end, and this should be done as soon as possible. Only then it will be possible to resume the Geneva format and to discuss other matters," Papuashvili told reporters on Tuesday.

The Geneva Consultations, the next round of which was scheduled for late March, have been suspended at the initiative of the UN, EU, and OSCE co-chairs.

The consultations kicked off in 2008, on the basis of an agreement reached by the presidents of Russia and France after the end of conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008. Back then, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The consultations involve Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Russia, Georgia, the United States, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the European Union.