Moscow Accuses Tbilisi of Wanting to ‘Sabotage’ Geneva Talks

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation blasted Georgia for “the cascade of provocative statements and actions in the last few days” and accused the country of wanting to disrupt the upcoming round of the Geneva International Discussions, scheduled for March 28-29.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in its March 24 statement that the Georgian officials are “vying to express more and more [diplomatic] protests.”

“During the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, Georgia submitted a draft resolution, that was clearly politicized and aimed against Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Russia. Foreign envoys have made new “pilgrimages” to the state border with South Ossetia, which Georgia continues to call an administrative boundary line,” the Ministry noted.

“The propaganda campaign,” the Russian MFA went on, “can be triggered by anything: Abkhazia’s lawful decision to revise the number of checkpoints on its border with Georgia, a bilateral agreement allowing the South Ossetian citizens to serve in the Russian army under individual contracts and a hoax on the alleged deployment of extra S-300 division in Abkhazia, as well as a totally fictional story on the Russian military convoy running through Georgia to Armenia.”

The Ministry added that Georgia’s “political show” serves to create “confrontational and hysterical atmosphere” ahead of the Geneva International Discussions and is designed to “sabotage” the event.

“We would like to underline that the Russian delegation is going to Switzerland with the intention to hold a calm and productive discussion on the pressing issues of security and stability in the South Caucasus. We call on the Georgian partners, all other participants in the Geneva discussions, to follow suit,” the Ministry concluded.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)