Denis Gonchar, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Fourth Department for CIS Countries, discussed Moscow's support for Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia regions, as well as the postponement of the Geneva International Discussions.

Overall, the situation between separatist Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's de-facto separating lines with the rest of Georgia is very steady, according to the Russian official. "We've also noticed a decrease in the number of incidents and offensive utterances.” The next stage, according to Gonchar, should be resuming the Gali IPRM conference between Tbilisi and Sukhumi delegates, which has been halted since 2018 due to Tbilisi's Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list. Gonchar also mentioned Russia's backing for the seized Abkhazia and South Ossetia territories in the context of international sanctions placed on Russia. According to the official, Russian limits on international economic activity and export prohibitions on certain commodities do not apply to Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, despite their pleas. 

Gonchar also mentioned the Russian investment initiatives for 2020-2022, are in place in the two areas and are each supported with USD 60 million. He also mentioned Moscow's budget allocations for separatist Sukhumi and Tskhinvali this year: USD 77 million, of which USD 62 million are earmarked for current social and economic development costs; USD 97 million for separatist South Ossetia, of which USD 83.5 million are earmarked for social and economic development costs.

Going back to the Geneva International Discussions, Gonchar chastised the EU, UN, and OSCE Co-Chairs for delaying the discussion. "The most crucial negotiating mechanism, through which an acceptable degree of security and stability was maintained in the area, was in fact taken hostage by these participants in the discussions. They bear all responsibility for the failure of the discussions," he added. “All of Western partners unfriendly and political actions do not serve the goal of building peace and security in the South Caucasus, and may lead to uncertainty in the area," Gonchar flagged.

Toivo Klaar, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Georgian Crisis and Co-Chair of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) responded to recent claims from Moscow about the postponing of the GID 56th round. Toivo Klaar said, "I don't believe those (Gonchar's words) adequately represent the Co-Chairs' decision to postpone the recent round." "The decision to postpone the latest round was made to preserve the process and to avoid a situation in which the international environment, particularly the crisis in Ukraine, might severely impact the round's procedures and, as a result, the GID as a whole," he concluded.

Earlier, Dmitry Kozak, the deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, hosted Anatoly Bibilov in Moscow, according to the de-facto Tskhinvali (South Ossetian) leader's office.According to a news release from Bibilov's office, the discussion focused on the implementation of the plans for the social and economic development of the occupied zone, as well as the efficient use of Russian budget funds.