Moscow proposes to hold the Geneva discussions in a more neutral place. This became known after the meeting of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Andrey Rudenko, via videoconference with the co-chairs of the International Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus.
"Under the current conditions, the need to move the meeting from Geneva to a more neutral place acceptable to all participants objectively arises," the message on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The central topic of the conversation was the discussion of the prospects for the resumption of the Geneva discussions. The work of the format remains frozen after the unilateral decisions taken by the co-chairs without consultations with the participating states to postpone the 56th round, initially planned for the end of March.
“The Russian side emphasized the destructiveness of the steps taken by the United States, the European Union, the OSCE, as well as Switzerland, which create serious obstacles to the normal functioning of the Geneva format,” the statement noted.
The Russian side stresses that given the emerging new geopolitical situation and attempts by Western countries to transfer the logic of confrontation to the South Caucasus, the absolute priority should remain the conclusion of a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force by Tbilisi with [separatist] Tskhinvali and Sokhumi. It also underlines the importance of launching the delimitation process of the [de-facto] Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian South Ossetian state borders with their subsequent demarcation.
“Without resolving these fundamental issues, the goal of ensuring sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus cannot be achieved,” Kremlin concluded.
