OSCE, UN and EU say Georgia discussions in Geneva focus on concrete points to help region's people

GENEVA, 18 December 2008 - The OSCE, UN and EU co-chaired discussions on Georgia in Geneva today at which participants made progress toward agreeing working-level mechanisms to tackle security-related incidents in the region.

"The discussions took place in a positive spirit," said Ambassador Heikki Talvitie, the Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. "Participants agreed to focus on practical and technical matters with the aim of achieving progress on concrete points that would ultimately benefit the people."

He noted that the other two co-chairs - Ambassador Johan Verbeke of the UN and Ambassador Pierre Morel of the EU - and he had agreed with the participants that the next meeting would be in Geneva on 17 and 18 February 2009.

Participants agreed on most of the details of concrete mechanisms to handle disputes and incidents on the ground. The co-chairs will work with the other participants to tackle the few remaining differences with the aim of reaching an agreement at the next meeting.

The discussions today and yesterday took place in two parallel working groups; one looking at security and stability in the region and the other at internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. Participants agreed it was important to accelerate needs assessments and aid deliveries as winter bites.

Talvitie noted the OSCE, which has a long-established mission in Georgia, would continue to address in Vienna the questions raised as well as the future mandate of the OSCE mission and renewed access for OSCE Military Monitoring Officers to South Ossetia.