Moscow says that Tbilisi should consider starting de facto border delimitations with separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia

| News, Georgia, Abkhazia

Moscow proposed that Tbilisi "launches the process of delimiting the borders of Georgia with (separatist) Abkhazia and South Ossetia with their subsequent demarcation." This was stated in a message from the Russian Foreign Ministry today following the results of the 54th round (October 12-13) of the International Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability.

Russia explained that the proposal has the goal of "strengthening security in the region."

“According to Russia and its Abkhaz and South Ossetian allies, the main priority of the Geneva format remains a set of issues related to ensuring lasting security in the South Caucasus. To achieve this strategic goal, it is necessary to focus on the work on concluding a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force between Georgia, on the one hand and Abkhazia and South Ossetia - on the other. The urgency of this task is growing against the background of active efforts by the West to draw Tbilisi into NATO, as evidenced by regular military exercises conducted directly on Georgian territory, including the recent multinational manoeuvres of the Agile Spirit 2021 alliance,” asserts the Russian Foreign Ministry.

According to the majority of the participants in the Geneva Discussions, the situation in the de-facto Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-South Ossetian borderlands remains relatively stable. To strengthen security in the region, the Russian side proposes to launch the process of delimiting the borders of Georgia with breakaway Abkhazia and breakaway South Ossetia with their subsequent demarcation. In this, Moscow is actively supported by Sukhumi and Tskhinvali.

Separately, the Russian delegation drew attention to the counter-productiveness of Georgia's destructive line.

Diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia were severed at the initiative of Tbilisi in August 2008 in response to Moscow's recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. After the war, Russia transferred additional troops and weapons to its military bases in these two Georgian regions.

Talks between Tbilisi and Moscow on political issues are held only within the framework of the Geneva Discussions with the participation of representatives of the OSCE and Georgia's western allies.

All states of the world - except for Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria - consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia as the territory of Georgia under Russian occupation.

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