On February 13, the 117th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti under the co-chairmanship of Tibor Kozma, Acting Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Viorel Moşanu, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for the South Caucasus.

A notable issue of concern raised during the meeting was the expected "appointment" of Davit Gurtsiev as "prosecutor" of the occupied Akhalgori district. Gurtsiev, previously convicted in the torture and murder of Archil Tatunashvili, is at the center of this controversy.

In their statement, the EUMM co-facilitators urged the meeting participants to commit to ensuring security and stability along the occupation line, maintaining freedom of movement, and fully reopening the crossing points to all traffic. The discussion also covered security dynamics in the Chorchana-Tsnelisi region, including issues related to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Reflecting on security incidents and other significant occurrences since their last meeting, the co-facilitators emphasized that ensuring the well-being of conflict-affected communities is a priority for all parties to the IPRM.

The Co-facilitators also called for an end to detentions and the release of all remaining detainees. The effectiveness of the EUMM-operated hotline was praised for facilitating rapid communication in times of crisis and was thanked by participants.

Ambassador Moşanu, representing Malta's OSCE Chairmanship in 2024, highlighted the useful practice of holding technical meetings, particularly on water irrigation, and expressed his wish that such efforts and initiatives be continued.

From the perspective of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG), there was a strong call for accountability for those responsible for the killing of Tamaz Ginturi, a Georgian citizen, by the Russian occupation forces near the village of Kirbali. The SSSG also raised the need for the release of all unlawfully detained persons and strongly opposed the illegal "borderization" activities observed between IPRM meetings. The meeting also addressed the humanitarian challenges faced by the local population along the occupation line and explored possible solutions.

Regarding the proposed "appointment" of Gurtsiev, the SSSG stressed the seriousness of such a decision in light of Gurtsiev's life sentence in 2020 by the Mtskheta City Court for the torture and murder of Archil Tatunashvili. Irakli Antadze, deputy head of the information-analytical department of the Georgian State Security Service, pointed out that Gurtsiev is on Interpol's Red Notice and that his "appointment" poses a significant threat to security. It is to be hoped that reason will prevail and that the safety of the local indigenous population will not be compromised.

Tamara Mearakishvili, an ethnic Georgian civic activist in the occupied Akhalgori district, has been on hunger strike since February 11 in protest against Gurtsiev's possible "appointment," accusing him of terrorizing the district's residents for over a decade. Mearakishvili vows to continue her hunger strike until the "Prosecutor General" of the Tskhinvali region provides an explanation for this decision.

As for the attitude of the de facto authorities in the occupied Tskhinvali region, they again raised the issue of an "illegal" Georgian police post on the territory of the village of Tsnelisi/Uista. Egor Kochiev, a representative of the de-facto authorities, reported a period of calm on the occupation line since December 13 last year, with a noticeable decrease in "border violations" and incidents involving UAVs and the presence of Georgian police.