A new round of international talks aimed at resolving outstanding issues left over by the Russian- Georgia conflict collapsed on Monday when the Russian delegation pulled out, diplomatic sources said, according to Xinhua.
The Russian delegation withdrew from the talks, citing the absence of representatives from Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia, the sources said.
Delegates from South Ossetia, another breakaway region of Georgia, also walked out of the closed-door meeting held at the UN European headquarters in Geneva.
South Ossetia was at the center of the five-day war in August, which was initiated by Georgian troops trying to regain control of the region but only defeated by quickly deployed Russian forces.
Russia recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states shortly after the war and has since then kept troops in the two regions.
"To discuss serious questions about security without one of the parties would be a doomed exercise," Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin was quoted as saying in Geneva by Interfax.
The talks were launched last October under the auspices of the European Union, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with an aim to solve security and humanitarian issues left over by the war.
The latest, or fifth round of the talks were scheduled on May 18-19 to build on limited progress made in February on a security mechanism.
Besides the three mediators, parties to the talks include Russia, Georgia, the United States as well as Georgia's two breakaway regions.
However, Abkhazia had refused to attend the latest round of discussions in protest to UN documents that described the region as part of Georgia, according to media reports.
In a joint statement issued late on Monday, the three mediators expressed their "strong regret" at the walkout of Russia from the discussions.
"The co-chairs strongly regret the walkout by the Russian participants at the beginning of the fifth session of the Geneva discussions today," said the statement.
However, the mediators urged all parties to regather for discussions on Tuesday.
"The co-chairs are working for the resumption of the discussions tomorrow morning, May 19, as planned and call upon all participants to be present," the statement said.
"The Geneva Discussions provide the only forum where all participants can engage with one another on the key issues of security and stability as well as humanitarian questions," it added.
...