Foreign Ministry releases statement on 49th round of Geneva International Talks

The Georgian Foreign Ministry has released a statement on the 49th round of the Geneva International Discussions. According to the statement, within the framework of the 49th round of the Geneva International Talks held on October 8-9, special emphasis was placed on the destructive and provocative actions of the occupation forces in the vicinity of the village Chorchana, as well as grave humanitarian consequences of closure of the so-called checkpoint in the so-called Tskhinvali region.

"Co-chairs and US officials have noted that illegal activities on this section first occurred in January of this year, when occupation forces began marking trees in the Chorchana forest and the so-called “borderization”.

Georgian officials, in light of the escalating situation, stressed the importance of de-escalation of the situation on the ground and the need for Russia to unconditionally end destructive actions and continue dialogue in the existing formats of negotiations.

The Georgian participants discussed in detail the grave consequences of the occupation and actual annexation of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region in terms of security and humanitarian situation. They focused on illegal militarization and military exercises ongoing on the ground. The issue of erecting barbed wire fences and various artificial barriers on the occupation line was strictly raised. The cases of illegal detentions and abductions along the occupation line were also discussed, as another factor in destabilizing the situation.

The fragile security environment on the ground was thoroughly reviewed by the EUMM, which highlighted Russia's failure to fulfill its obligations under the 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement, while Georgia fully complies with all the terms of the agreement”, reads the statement.

According to the Ministry, particular emphasis was also placed on the gross violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the populations affected by the Russia-Georgia conflict, and in this context, Russia's responsibility was emphasized.