Fifth Round of Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia
PRESS RELEASE
A fifth round of international discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia is scheduled to be held in Geneva on May 18-19. The discussions are provided by the September 8, 2008, agreement of the presidents of Russia and France, reached after the repulsion of Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia. Taking part in the Geneva meetings on an equal basis are the delegations of the Republic of Abkhazia, Georgia, the Russian Federation, the United States, the Republic of South Ossetia and the representatives of the EU, UN and OSCE. The first round of discussions took place on October 15, 2008. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs/State Secretary Grigory Karasin heads the Russian delegation.
The agenda of the May meetings includes major issues of security and the nonuse of force in the troubled Transcaucasian region. From the Russian side the emphasis will be placed on the need to work out and provide firm guarantees of the prevention of aggression and the non-resumption of military actions on the part of Tbilisi against its neighbors in the region. For this purpose legally binding agreements on the nonuse of force need to be signed between Georgia and South Ossetia and between Georgia and Abkhazia in the first place. On the borders of these states reliable security regimes must be created providing for complete and consistent compliance by the Georgian side with the provisions of the Medvedev-Sarkozy agreement. An important element of security in Transcaucasia is imposing an international embargo on the supply of offensive arms to Georgia.
Despite the failure of its inhuman adventure last August, the leadership of Georgia has not drawn any lessons for itself. Calls are again being heard in Tbilisi to restore by force the territorial integrity lost as a result of the irresponsible policy of the Georgian leadership. Tension is again growing on Georgia's borders with the Republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; Georgian power agencies are erecting new fortifications and observation posts, concentrating armed forces and military equipment, and holding exercises and maneuvers there. All of this is taking place against the background of a profound domestic political crisis into which the present leadership has plunged the country. Mass demonstrations and protests rallies have been continuing in Tbilisi for more than a month.
It is not surprising that in these conditions the Georgian top leadership is trying to distract the attention of its population from vital internal problems by artificially creating idle, but dangerous external tricks. Their assortment is not new and has long been known: provocations against the neighboring republics, the assistance of western backers who have for some reason chosen Georgian territory for the conduct of a very untimely and destabilizing NATO exercise precisely at the present already disturbing moment, another fake coup with the designs of an external enemy, and so forth.
The Russian delegation intends to draw the attention of its partners in Geneva to these and other aspects in the realm of security in Transcaucasia that require adoption of joint decisions. In this case the main emphasis ought to be laid on practical actions to reduce tension, to bolster security and to restore trust in the region.
This is precisely the approach that has consistently been adhered to by the Russian side, having long since fulfilled the provisions of the Medvedev-Sarkozy agreement pertaining to it. The bilateral agreements between the Russian Federation and the Republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia with respect to state border protection and military cooperation also pursue this aim. Russian troops and border guards serve on the territory of South Ossetia and Abkhazia steadfastly adhering to the tasks in maintaining peace and security in this explosive region. It is thanks to them that the population of the Transcaucasian states has received the opportunity to shift to a peaceful life and the construction of normal democratic societies.
It is also important to agree in Geneva on continued practical work in the framework of the proposals agreed during the February round of discussions for joint mechanisms for preventing and responding to incidents. The first procedural meeting to launch these mechanisms on the Georgian-South Ossetian border took place on April 23 at Ergneti village. But the second meeting, slated for May 7, was scuttled by the obstructionist stance of the Georgian side, which is trying to politicize even what are essentially procedural matters. At the same time, the importance and usefulness of such a practical instrument of trust and security in the region are obvious to all. So the success of the Geneva discussions depends directly on the genuineness of the desire of our partners to conduct a constructive dialogue on the issues of stability and security, with due regard for the new situation in Transcaucasia.
May 16, 2009
