Moscow Wants to Move Georgia Talks out of Geneva

The Russian Foreign Ministry (MID) has raised the need to move the Geneva International Discussions (GID) from Geneva to a “more neutral place acceptable to all participants.”

The statement came on June 20, after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko met with the GID Co-Chairs, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, UN Representative Cihan Sultanoğlu, and OSCE Special Representative Viorel Moșanu.

The MID cited “destructiveness of the steps taken by the United States, the European Union, the OSCE, as well as Switzerland, which creates serious obstacles to the normal functioning of the Geneva format” behind its demand.

“Considering the emerging new geopolitical situation and attempts by Western countries to transfer the logic of confrontation to the South Caucasus, the conclusion of a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force by Tbilisi with Tskhinval[i] and Sukhum[i], as well as the launch of the delimitation of Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-South Ossetian state borders with their subsequent demarcation must remain an absolute priority,” the Russian MID claimed.  

The 56th round of Geneva International Talks, originally slated for March, were cancelled amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the closure of much of the European skies for Russia.

Earlier, responding to similar Russian accusations in a comment with Civil.ge, EUSR Toivo Klaar said “the decision to postpone the recent round was taken in order to protect the process and to avoid a situation where the international environment, in particular the war in Ukraine, would negatively affect the proceedings of the round itself and thereby of the GID as a whole.”

The Geneva International Discussions is the multilateral forum to address security and humanitarian consequences of the Russo-Georgian War of August 2008.

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