Azerbaijan, Baku, May 29 / Trend , E.Ostapenko/
On the Geneva process, which the OSCE co-chairs together with the EU and UN, is "imperative that the discussions start producing tangible results, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby said at OSCE.
"So far one of the positive outcomes of the Geneva talks was agreement on the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) between all sides," Semneby said, adding that the discussions must yield tangible fruits.
The last, fifth round of Geneva discussions in favor of Caucasus held on May 18-19.
Meetings of representatives of EU, OSCE, UN, Russia, United States, Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia aimed at speedy incandesce stabilize the situation in the region. The first three rounds of discussions had not yielded any concrete results.
The fourth round of the Geneva consultations, which took place February17-18, was the most productive of all. Negotiators for the first time been able to agree on a document containing proposals for mechanisms to prevent and resolve incidents in Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The need for the Geneva discussions on the situation in Transcaucasia emerged after the end of the war between Georgia and Russia due to break away from Georgian regions - South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Large-scale military operations commenced in the unrecognized South Ossetia republic in the early morning of 8 August. Georgian Army was reported to enter Tskhinvali on 9 August. On August 26, Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and established with them diplomatic relations on September 9.
The EU firmly believes that an international monitoring presence in Georgia remains essential and supports the continued presence of the UN and the OSCE in Georgia in the region.
" "The EU has long advocated the continuation of an OSCE monitoring presence in Georgia and hopes that, even now, when discussions have been suspended, that there will be a way to maintain such an important presence on the ground," Semneby said.
Ambassador Semneby said that "the EU strongly supports a stable South Caucasus region with open borders, taking advantage of all opportunities for prosperity". "The launch of the Eastern Partnership in Prague three weeks ago makes it abundantly clear that the EU's commitment to the region has been raised to a new level of ambition," he added. The program's aim is to closely cooperate with post Soviet countries -Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Belarus.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at: [email protected]