On October 15, 2008, International Discussions on the security and stability arrangements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia were launched as agreed in the August 12 cease-fire agreement.

For the first time with the joint efforts of the international community, and in particular, the European Union, United Nations and OSCE, an international format was created, by which Russia’s self-designated monopoly over the peace process was terminated.

Unfortunately, the representatives of the Russian Federation started to obstruct talks from the very outset, by demanding the representatives of the regimes, created by Russian occupation forces, to be included into the talks as official partes on the same level as sovereign states, and at the same time by opposing participation of the representatives of the legitimate authorities of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia. Russian Federation declined to participate in the formal plenary session, which, as agreed in advance, comprised of the representatives of the EU, OSCE and UN, in the capacity of mediators, and Georgia, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, in the capacity of official participants. Unfortunately, the decision of the Russian Federation not to participate in the plenary session jeopardized the success of the talks for the rest of the day.

Later, during the informal procedural information point, in which participants took part in individual capacity, and which was not attended by the Georgian participants, representatives of the proxy regimes, effectively under the control of the Russian Federation, requested to be included in the talks as "delegations of South Ossetia and Abkhazia”. They also declined to be seated at the same table with the representatives of the legitimate governments of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, who became the victims of ethnic cleansing as a result of Russian aggression in August of 2008, and who had been suffering political persecutions since early 1990s.

Because of the unconstructive position of the representatives of the proxy regimes, endorsed by the Russian Federation, meetings of the working groups on the Security and Stability Issues and IDPs and Refugees, which had been also agreed in advance, did not take place. The Georgian side together with the international mediators waited for the meeting to be held until the last moment, but due to the obstructive position of the representatives of the proxy regimes and the Russian Federation, opportunity to engage in the constructive and meaningful dialogue was missed.

Despite the obvious obstruction of the Geneva talks from the Russian Federation, the Georgian side remains fully committed to the peace process, being convinced that the peaceful dialogue and negotiations are the only way to ensure that the security and stability are established in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the IDPs and refugees are returned in a safe and dignified manner.

The Georgian side is looking forward to the November 18, when the negotiations in the Geneva format are planned to resume. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia remains hopeful that the Russian Federation, which obstructed today’s discussions will behave responsibly in the future and engage in the meaningful and result-oriented dialogue, for which there are all the preconditions in the new Geneva format.