In Geneva, 28th round of discussions on security in Transcaucasia over ahead of schedule

In Geneva, at the 28th round of the discussions on security in Transcaucasia, the delegations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have refused to discuss the problem of refugees. The delegations have announced its politicization and left the room prior to the end of discussions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the 28th round of the Geneva International Discussions was to take place on June 17-28. The first talks were scheduled for June 18.

At the talks held on June 18, the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sides expressed their protests against the fact that on June 5, the UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, which was introduced by Georgia and concerned refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

According to the Abkhaz and South Ossetian sides, "the resolution adopted is not only unable to improve the situation of refugees, but it also adversely affect the course of the Geneva discussions, which continue to be the only place where representatives of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Georgia have the opportunity to discuss a wide range of existing problems."

The participants of the Second Working Group on Humanitarian Affairs have emphasized that "the politicization of the refugee problem undermines the work under this track within the Geneva discussions" and left the negotiation room.

The next round of the talks is scheduled for October 7-8. This was reported by the "News-Georgia" with reference to the "Imedi" TV Channel.

See earlier reports: "Georgian Deputy Minister for Integration announces progress on humanitarian issues at Geneva talks", "In Geneva, Georgian party refuses to discuss border delineation issues with South Ossetia", "Georgy Margvelashvili: Georgia to improve relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia with EU assistance".