South Ossetia intends to focus on agreeing on a specific document on the non-use of force during the upcoming round of the International Security Discussions in the Transcaucasia. This was announced by Konstantin Kochiev, a head of the South Ossetian delegation and State Advisor to President, at the meeting with the international co-chairs in Tskhinval.
The meeting was held in preparation for the next round of negotiations.
Welcoming the participants, Kochiev noted the importance of traditional consultations that precede meetings at the Geneva forum and are held in the capitals of the participating countries: South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Russia, and Georgia.
"As practice shows, this is a useful opportunity to compare notes and discuss not only the current agenda but also important issues directly related to ensuring security." "We have now reached a very important stage—a substantive discussion of the draft declaration on the non-use of force. Today, we intend to devote maximum attention to this issue in order to reach understanding at this stage on the details that remain unresolved," Kochiev has stated.
The head of the delegation has emphasized that all participants in the process have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to the Geneva format.
According to him, the consultations that have been ongoing for many years, based on the Medvedev-Sarkozy agreements, are making a significant contribution to maintaining stability in the Caucasus region.
Kochev has also stressed that the official rounds in Geneva are only the visible part of the extensive ongoing work.
"The Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) has been actively working on the South Ossetian issue. In addition, regular interagency consultations are taking place. Our delegation has recently returned from Moscow, where a serious and engaged discussion of the Geneva agenda took place," the State Advisor has concluded.
The EU Co-Chair Magdalena Grono expressed her readiness to work in depth on the agenda for the upcoming round, scheduled for mid-March.
"It is particularly important for the Geneva discussions to be productive in the current complex geopolitical environment. We are placing particular emphasis on making these negotiations substantive, taking into account not only the main issues but also the real situation on the ground," Grono has emphasized.
She has also reported that the Co-Chairs have already held similar meetings in Moscow and Tbilisi, and following the consultations in Tskhinval, they will travel to their Abkhaz colleagues to complete the preparatory cycle.
Co-Chair Christoph Späti, representing the current Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE, emphasized the strategic importance of the negotiation process.
"Switzerland fully supports the Geneva International Discussions (GID) format as a crucial instrument of multilateral diplomacy. We will make every effort to ensure that the upcoming meeting in Geneva is as substantive and productive as possible," Späti has noted.
Christoph Späti has expressed disappointment that it was not possible to organize broad meetings with representatives of the public during the current visit.
He has reminded that such events held in October were extremely useful for better understanding the positions of residents of Tskhinval.
The OSCE representative spoke in favor of resuming traditional meetings with the state leadership, which had been held previously.
According to the diplomat, this significantly contributes to the quality of preparations for the rounds.
Concluding his speech, Späti confirmed that the international mediators were committed to constructive work to ensure that the March round leads to concrete progress on the regional security issues.
The UN Co-Chair Kayoko Gotoh, for whom this was her first visit to the capital of South Ossetia, has emphasized that direct dialogue on the ground is a key element in preparation for the upcoming Geneva Round.
"It is extremely important for us to be able to communicate directly with you here in Tskhinval. This allows us not only to exchange opinions but also to strengthen working relations, making the situation in the region more predictable and stable," Kayoko Gotoh said.
The next round of the Geneva International Discussions on Security in Transcaucasia will take place on March 18–19.
