MOSCOW, February 4 the international Geneva discussions on security and stability in the Transcaucasus, the Russian Federation should take this into account, said Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs.
The co-chairs of the Geneva discussions from the EU, the UN, the OSCE did not notify the South Ossetian side of the postponement of the next round of discussions, which was scheduled for February. South Ossetia, in turn, canceled a meeting with the co-chairs of the Geneva discussions on security and stability in Transcaucasia in Tskhinval, which was scheduled for February 7.
“A new cloud is coming over the South Caucasus. Westerners, in the heat of confrontation with Russia, are actually freezing a useful format of negotiations within the framework of the “Geneva discussions on security in the South Caucasus” (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Georgia, Russia, the United States with the participation of the OSCE, the UN and the European Union)… Well, now the peoples of our common region with the South Caucasus will have to suffer and worry. We must take this into account and prepare,» Karasin wrote in his Telegram channel.
The politician noted that the Geneva discussions were «a reliable safety net against exacerbations» in the South Caucasus region. «Russia has always responsibly participated in its work (the work of this format of negotiations — ed.), as well as in the incident response mechanisms created as part of the Geneva Discussions. Probably, relative predictability no longer fits into Washington's plans,» the parliamentarian concluded.
Earlier, Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Inal Ardzinba said that due to the postponement of discussions unilaterally, the Abkhaz side decided to refuse entry to the territory of the republic of the delegation of the co-chairs of the Geneva discussions, who planned meetings with officials on February 8-9.
On August 26, 2008, after Georgia's armed aggression against Tskhinval, Moscow recognized the sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The leaders of Russia have repeatedly stated that the recognition of the independence of the two former Georgian autonomies reflects the existing realities and is not subject to revision. However, Tbilisi refuses to recognize the independence of the republics.
The Geneva Discussions have been held regularly since October 2008. One of the main issues of discussion is the signing of a document on the non-use of force. Moscow, Tskhinvali and Sukhum are urging Tbilisi to sign this agreement, but Georgia, which does not recognize the independence of its former autonomies, insists that Russia must assume the obligation not to use force. South Ossetia and Abkhazia emphasized that Georgia should conclude this agreement with the two republics, and not with the Russian Federation, which is not a party to the conflict.