‘JCC Pointless, but Tbilisi will not Hinder it’ – Georgian Minister

Two days of negotiations between the Georgian, South Ossetian, Russian and Russia’s North Ossetian sides in the framework of the quadripartite Joint Control Commission (JCC) have failed to yield any results.

“We are ready to continue working within the existing format and we are not going to undermine it,” Bakradze said at a news conference. “However, we will really focus on other formats that bring concrete results.”

By “other formats”, the minister said, he was specifically thinking of the Georgian state commission set up this summer to develop South Ossetia’s status and the Tbilisi-backed South Ossetian provisional administration, led by Dimitri Sanakoev.

“These formats have concrete projects, are result-oriented and will really contribute towards conflict resolution,” Bakradze said.

Bakradze’s remarks were made shortly after his deputy, Dimitri Manjavidze, – who acts as Georgia’s chief negotiator in the JCC – said that the JCC session, the first in over a year, had ended in failure.

The JCC plenary session was held in the OSCE mission headquarters in Tbilisi on October 23-24.

Georgian negotiators said they had several objectives during the talks. One in particular, the establishment of an observation post of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces – involving Georgian, Ossetian and Russian troops – at the village of Didi Gupta was  a priority for the Georgian side.

The village is located at the northern extreme of the conflict zone – an area defined as a 15-km radius around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. The village is on a strategic road, which is described by the South Ossetian side as “the road of life.” It links the breakaway region’s capital of Tskhinvali with the north of the region, without having to go through Georgian-administered villages.

Tbilisi hopes that an observation post at Didi Gupta will prevent trafficking of arms within the conflict zone.

“It is pointless to even talk about demilitarization of the conflict zone – which is our top priority – without having an observation post at Didi Gupta,” Mamuka Kurashvili, commander of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion in the conflict zone, said after the JCC session.

The observation post, Georgian officials say, is the first step towards demilitarization of the region, with others to follow, including control of Roki Tunnel, which links the breakaway region with neighboring North Ossetia.

South Ossetian chief negotiator Boris Chochiev said that the proposal was totally unacceptable for Tskhinvali. “This is a road of life for us and it will remain under our control,” Chochiev said after the talks.

The status of the Tbilisi-backed South Ossetian provisional administration, led by Dimitri Sanakoev, is yet another point of contention, with Tbilisi seeking international recognition for the administration, while both Tskhinvali and Moscow remain opposed to any role for it.

“Sanakoev is a criminal and he should be jailed,” Boris Chochiev said. “I am sure the Georgian government will soon come to understand this.”

Russia’s position is that Sanakoev holds an official position within the Georgian state structure and therefore cannot be regarded as an independent side in the conflict.

South Ossetia’s main objective during the talks was to start working on the development of an agreement on the non-use of force, which, Tskhinvali had hoped, would have been signed by South Ossetian secessionist leader Eduard Kokoity and President Saakashvili.

“Georgian ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili admitted only recently that a plan existed to forcefully settle the conflict,” Chochiev said after the talks. “Why should we trust Tbilisi; where are the guarantees that [Davit] Kezerashvili [the current Georgian defense minister] has no such plan now?”

Georgian negotiators, however, say such an agreement is pointless in the absence of demilitarization. Tbilisi also says that an agreement will only stick, if backed by international guarantees, with Russia no longer enjoying a leading role in the peace process.

Davit Bakradze, the Georgian state minister for conflict resolution issues, blamed both Tskhinvali and Moscow for the talks’ failure.

“Over the two days the Georgian side tried to be as constructive as possible. It did its utmost to reach concrete agreements within the framework of this negotiating format. Unfortunately, we failed to reach any agreement, firstly, because the representatives of the Tskhinvali-based authorities were not willing to engage in constructive dialogue and make normal compromises,” Bakradze said. “On the other hand, it is also regrettable, that the Russian Federation, as a mediator, failed to lead the process to a final agreement.”

“Conflict resolution is a process, which needs concrete, serious decisions. So far we have not seen any concrete decisions made by the Joint Control Commission,” he added. “Unfortunately, this recent session has once again demonstrated that the JCC is very superficial and pointless.”