The delegations of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Russia at the 67th round of the International Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia (IDS) reiterated their demand that Georgia commit to the non-use of force and expressed serious concern over its intensified integration into the North Atlantic Alliance, which they viewed as a threat to regional stability.
The meetings were being held from June 30 to July 1 at the Palais des Nations of the UN Geneva Office, based on the Medvedev-Sarkozy Plan and the 2008 agreements.
The meeting was attended by delegations from South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia, the Russian Federation, and the United States, co-chaired by the EU, UN, and OSCE. The South Ossetian delegation was led by State Advisor to the President Konstantin Kochiev.
According to the Foreign Ministry press service, the discussion focused on current regional security issues and ensuring stability in the territories adjacent to the state borders between South Ossetia and Georgia, as well as between Abkhazia and Georgia.
The security situation along the state border was assessed as relatively stable.
The South Ossetian and Russian parties emphasized that the delimitation and subsequent demarcation of the state border between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia would be the most important factor in maintaining and strengthening stability and security.
The participants in the discussions reaffirmed the effectiveness of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in the South Ossetian-Georgian border area and the existing hotline.
Representatives of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Russia have also noted that large-scale military exercises involving NATO contingents on the Georgian territory pose a threat to regional stability and security.
During the discussion of humanitarian issues, the South Ossetian delegation urged the Georgian party to cease sabotaging the search for abducted and missing South Ossetian citizens on the Georgian territory and to take practical steps toward resolving it.
Attention was also drawn to Georgia's ongoing grave violations of the rights of Ossetians native to the Kazbegi (Tyrsygom) district, who have been denied access to their ancestral lands by the Georgian authorities for many years.
In connection with Georgia's latest resolution on refugee issues submitted to the UN General Assembly, the South Ossetian and Abkhaz the participants issued a joint statement, noting that resuming discussions on refugees in the ICD format will only be possible if Georgia renounced the artificial politicization of this issue and ceases discussing the problem behind the backs of other states interested in resolving it.
The next meeting of the International Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia is scheduled for November 2026.
