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Meetings in Geneva and Ergneti: 2024

2025 / 01 / 26

In 2024, the format of negotiations with Sokhumi and Tskhinvali remained unchanged. Meetings continued to take place in Geneva, within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions, and in Ergneti, as part of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism. Meetings with the Abkhazian side in Gali have not been held since 2018, following the murder of Giga Otkhozoria. Notably, Moscow and Sokhumi have consistently called for the restoration of meetings in Gali during the GIDs. However, due to the stance of the Georgian side on this matter, these meetings have not been resumed.

The Geneva Meetings

Since Russia's full-scale military aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022, Moscow has increasingly voiced its dissatisfaction with the venue for negotiations under the GIDs, a sentiment also shared by Sokhumi and Tskhinvali. Moscow contends that Switzerland has lost its status as a neutral country after aligning with the EU’s anti-Russian actions and showing full solidarity with the Kyiv regime. As a result, Russia is pushing to relocate negotiation rounds, with support from its Abkhaz and Ossetian allies. Sokhumi and Tskhinvali support this move, citing restrictive visa policies that limit their ability to travel freely within the Schengen area and to Switzerland. Alternative venues, such as Belarus and Serbia, have been suggested. However, any change in location requires the consent of Tbilisi.

In 2022, only one meeting was held in the Geneva format, and in 2023 and 2024 - three each. Until 2022, four meetings were usually held during the year.

In 2024, three rounds of the Geneva International Discussions were held:

  • 60th round – April 4-5
  • 61st round - June 25-26
  • 62nd round - November 5-6 

As a rule, Sokhumi and Tskhinvali typically present similar demands during the GIDs:

  • Signing a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force;
  • Delimitation and demarcation of the so-called border;
  • Resumption of meetings in Gali within the framework of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism;
  • The Ossetian side frequently raises concerns over “Georgia’s gross violations of the rights of Ossetians born in the Kazbegi municipality, specifically in the Truso Gorge.” According to Tskhinvali, the Georgian authorities have been denying them access to their ancestral villages for several years.

Ergneti Meetings

In 2024, six Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings were held in Ergneti, compared to seven in 2023. The first meeting in this format took place on April 23, 2009, following a decision made during the 6th round of Geneva talks on February 18-19, 2009.

Ergneti meetings in 2024:

Various issues are discussed at the Ergneti meetings that the Georgian and Ossetian sides consider important:

Issues raised by the Georgian side:

  • The cessation of the continued illegal detentions of Georgian citizens and the release of all illegally detained individuals;
  • The cessation of the illegal process of “borderization;”
  • The punishment of those responsible for the murder of Tamaz Ginturi (killed by Russian occupier forces on November 6, 2023).

Issues raised by the Ossetian side:

  • Delimitation and demarcation of the “state border;”
  • Prevention of “border violations;”
  • Incidents involving unmanned aerial vehicles near the occupation line;
  • Abolition of the Georgian police checkpoint in the village of Chorchana;
  • Prevention of cigarette smuggling;
  • Prevention of vandalism along the occupation line (including damage to so-called border infrastructure).

The most notable achievement of the Ergneti meetings is the agreement on the operation of the Tiriponi Canal, an essential irrigation system benefiting both the population in the occupied territories and those in the Georgian government-controlled areas. The canal, which supplies irrigation water to Georgian and Ossetian villages along the occupation line, had been inactive since 2008. There is continuous cooperation between the parties on this matter.

 

Excerpt from Rondeli Foundation publication.

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