Sputnik News
Moscow hopes that the participants of the Geneva discussions on Syrian reconciliation, including the Georgian delegation, will hold the upcoming meeting in a constructive manner with a real interest in the results, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Moscow hopes that the next round of the Geneva discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus, including Georgia, would be constructive and focused on actual results, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
According to the statement, the previous round of the talks on South Caucasus was marked by “a sharp intensification of anti-Russia comments on the part of Tbilisi.”
“We hope that the participants of the Geneva discussions, including the Georgian delegation, will hold the upcoming meeting in a constructive manner with a real interest in the results. The success of the round of talks, and eventually of the Geneva process as a whole, depend on this,” the statement read.
During the upcoming talks, scheduled for March 22-23, the sides will review joint mechanisms to prevent and respond to incidents on the borders of the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with Georgia, in order to strengthen security in South Caucasus, according to the ministry.
In 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, ending in a five-day war with Russia. Both regions declared their independence from Georgia in the early 1990s and were recognized by Russia following the conflict. Georgia does not recognize the existence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as political entities.
Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia meet regularly within the framework of Geneva discussions, mediated by Russia, the United States, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union. The latest round of talks on security and stability in the region took place in the Swiss city on October 6-7.