OSCE Chairmanship Special Representative Erler welcomes agreement on resumption of Gali IPRM

Berlin, 23 March 2016 - Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship Gernot Erler welcomed the agreement reached today, during the 35th round of the Geneva International Discussions, on the resumption of meetings of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in Gali (IPRM).

"I commend the political will displayed by all participants to keep up the constructive spirit at the Geneva International Discussions. Today´s joint decision to resume the Gali IPRM is a major step to increase confidence, predictability and transparency. The IPRM will help to solve pressing humanitarian issues and to make daily life easier for the affected population. I call on the participants to hold a first IPRM meeting at the earliest possible convenience".

The IPRM was agreed as a status neutral mechanism between the sides in 2009, in the frame of the Geneva International Discussions. Whereas the IPRM at the administrative boundary line of South Ossetia has been meeting regularly, the mechanism in the Abkhaz context will now be resumed after a break of four years.