Agreement reached at Geneva talks

The fourth round of the EU, UN, OSCE and US–mediated Geneva talks between Russia and Georgia on the issues of maintaining security in the region and returning IDPs to their homes ended on Wednesday. The sides have reached an agreement on “incident prevention and reaction mechanisms,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told journalists after the plenary session late on Wednesday. “This is the first mutual agreement between the three Caucasus states since the Georgian aggression in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in August 2008,” Karasin was quoted as saying by Interfax News Agency.

The Georgian side was satisfied with the result of the negotiations. The head of the Georgian delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria, said that he is glad agreement was reached. “The agreement on creating mechanisms to prevent any incidents is very important as international monitors, including those of the UN and OSCE, will also be part of this. Now it is crucial that this agreement be implemented properly. Georgia will do everything it can to see this is done,” Bokeria said.

Georgian officials have commented on Karasin’s statement about an “agreement between the three Caucasus states.” Deputy Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Elene Tevdoradze said that such Russian statements are not taken seriously by the international community. “Of course Russia will try to present the two breakaway regions, which have been recognized only by Russia, as internationally recognized states. However, no matter what Karasin says, international society understands the facts,” Tevdoradze told The Messenger. The Deputy State Minister said the details of the agreement between the sides will be known later, when the Georgian delegation members arrive in Tbilisi.

The fourth round of talks in Geneva lasted two days. Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria led the Georgian delegation, while the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister led the Russian delegation. The head of the Abkhazian Government-in-Exile, Malkhaz Akishbaia, and the head of the South Ossetian Provisional Administration, Dimitri Sanakoev, were also part of the Georgian delegation. Representatives of the de facto South Ossetian and Abkhaz Governments also participated in the talks. Despite the change of US Government, Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried and Matthew Bryza still represented the US.

On the first day of negotiations the sides held two working meetings, one dedicated to security issues in the Caucasus region and another to the question of IDPs. These meetings lasted about 6 hours, Georgian media reported. The issue of admitting international monitors to Georgia’s breakaway territories was discussed. The Georgian side pushed for the adoption of a document concerning deploying OSCE and EU monitors on the ground, but according to the Imedi TV Company the Russian side rejected this Georgian demand. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin described the working meetings as “tough, but very constructive.”

The representative of de facto South Ossetia at the Geneva talks, Boris Chochiev, said they would not let EU monitors onto the territory of the de facto republic. “We will not let the EU ones enter, and will only let OSCE monitors in if it they establish an OSCE mission on South Ossetian territory,” Chochiev told journalists.

The first round of talks in Geneva was held last October but was disrupted due to a disagreement between the Georgian and Russian sides about the status of the representatives of the de facto South Ossetian and Abkhazian republics. At the second round of talks in November, the EU, UN and OSCE set up two working groups, in which all sides would participate without official status. The third round of negotiations was held in December. The sides discussed various issues related to ways of resolving the conflict, but failed to reach any specific agreements.

Some analysts remain skeptical of the importance of the Geneva talks. Political commentator Shalva Pichkhadze said 2 or 3 day meetings each month are not enough to produce tangible results. He said that preparatory meetings should be held between the Georgian and Russian sides, as well as with representatives of the de facto republics. “If there is no work done ahead of the Geneva talks and discussion proceeds only via the negotiators, the talks will have less than effective results. If Georgia wants to show that it is doing something to resolve the conflict, the Geneva talks are a good medium with which to do this, but if we want to achieve any serious results we have to do some work beforehand,” Pichkhadze noted.