Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on the 58th Round of the Geneva International Discussions

The 58th round of the Geneva International Discussions was held on 11-12 July 2023. The Georgian delegation was led by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lasha Darsalia.
Georgian delegation made special emphasis on the core agenda items of the Geneva International Discussions, i.e. the necessity of full implementation by Russian Federation of the international obligations under the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement, and the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes.

The Georgian delegation also raised the acute security and humanitarian problems stemming from the Russian occupation, such as illegal military exercises, installation of barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers along the occupation line, illegal detentions and kidnappings, human rights violations and ethnic discrimination of Georgians. The utmost need to solve those problems were emphasized.

Due to the destructive position of Russia and its occupation regimes, again, the discussion was not held on one of the main issues of the agenda – the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, forcibly expelled from their homes as a result of ethnic cleansing in Georgia’s occupied territories. As soon as the agenda item was opened, the participants from Moscow, Sokhumi and Tskhinvali politicized the issue and walked out of the negotiations.

The Geneva International Discussions (GID) were launched on the basis of the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement. The main topics of the GID are implementation of Ceasefire Agreement, and safe and dignified return of IDPs and refugees to their homes, as well as security and humanitarian problems stemming from Russian occupation. The negotiations are held with Co-Chairmanship of the EU, UN and OSCE, and participation of Georgia, the Russian Federation and the USA. The Head of the Provisional Administration of the former South Ossetian Autonomous District and the Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, as well as the representatives of the Russian occupation regime in Sokhumi and Tskhinvali also participate in the Working Groups.