Put up for rejection: Tbilisi blocks document on non-use of force against Tskhinvali and Sukhum
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- Put up for rejection: Tbilisi blocks document on non-use of force against Tskhinvali and Sukhum
Georgia did not discuss the signing of a document on the non-use of force against Tskhinvali and Sukhum during the Geneva discussions in November, the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. This is, in fact, a key point, the resolution of which could have moved Tbilisi's dialogue with the two republics, whose sovereignty it does not recognize. Earlier the ruling party of Georgia promised to apologize to South Ossetia and Abkhazia for the war of 2008, but so far it seems that Tbilisi's position towards the two republics has not changed much. Whether the words of the leader of the ruling party should be considered solely as PR and whether to expect warming of relations between Tbilisi, Tskhinval and Sukhum - in the material of "Izvestia".
Tbilisi is blocking the signing of a document on the non-use of force
Tbilisi during the Geneva discussions on security issues in the Transcaucasus once again did not want to discuss an agreement on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the South Ossetian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
- On November 5-6, Geneva hosted regular discussions on security issues in the Transcaucasus with the participation of delegations from South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the UN, the United States, the OSCE and the EU. The meeting itself was the 62nd and took place after the parliamentary elections in Georgia. <...> It must be stated that the election results did not affect the position of official Tbilisi, which again blocked the signing of a legally binding document on the non-use of force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia," the Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. "The participants confirmed their common commitment to this format, which remains a sought-after negotiating platform for post-conflict restoration of Tbilisi's relations with Sukhum and Tskhinval," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Nevertheless, South Ossetia is set for further dialog through this negotiation format and is coordinating efforts with Russian and Abkhazian partners, the Foreign Ministry added. The parties agreed to hold the next, 63rd round in the first half of March 2025.
International discussions on security and stability in the Transcaucasus have been held in Geneva since 2008 with the participation of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the United States and South Ossetia with the mediation of special representatives from the UN, the EU and the OSCE. The work is traditionally conducted in two working groups - on security and humanitarian issues. The Geneva discussions remain the only platform for dialog between Tbilisi, Sukhum and Tskhinval.
- If Georgia signs the treaty on the non-use of force, it means recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the short term. I do not expect Tbilisi to sign such a document. But, from Russia's point of view, this is one of the steps to normalize Georgia's relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Nikolai Silaev, a senior researcher at the Center for Caucasus and Regional Security Issues at MGIMO, told Izvestia.
Political scientist Andrei Areshev believes that Georgia's refusal to approve such an agreement can be seen as a reflection of Tbilisi's traditional line of not recognizing the realities that have emerged in the region since August 2008.
- However, I think that informal consultations on issues of cross-border and other cooperation of mutual interest cannot be ruled out in the future," he told Izvestia.
It is noteworthy that the Russian Federation is in favor of moving the discussions from Geneva. Because of joining all the anti-Russian sanctions packages, Switzerland has actually lost its neutral status. But, in addition to the political, there are also organizational and logistical aspects. Representatives of Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have to "spend more time to get to Geneva", emphasized Mikhail Galuzin.
Relations between Tbilisi, Tskhinvali and Sukhum
Recently the possibility of normalization of relations between Tbilisi, Tskhinval and Sukhum has been actively discussed. This is connected with the statements that the ruling circles made in the run-up to the parliamentary elections. For example, in September 2024 Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili said that Tbilisi would find the strength to apologize for the 2008 war after the party's victory. "Immediately after the conclusion of the October 26 elections, when the instigators of the war will be condemned and all those guilty of destroying Georgian-Ossetian friendship will receive the strictest legal response, we will definitely find the strength to apologize for the fact that on the assignment [from outside] of the traitorous National Movement in 2008, our Ossetian brothers and sisters were enveloped in flames of fire," he said.
A couple of weeks after Bidzina Ivanishvili's statement, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, speaking at the UN General Assembly session, emphasized that his country hopes to "restore all destroyed bridges" with South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the same event also expressed Moscow's readiness to assist in achieving peace between the republics. However, it is up to the countries themselves to decide what form this may take, the minister said.
South Ossetia drew attention to statements by representatives of the Georgian Dream about the desire to "apologize" and the possibility of normalizing relations. At the same time, the republic has heard from other members of the same party opinions of a completely opposite nature with unfriendly rhetoric, the country's Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
- In the completed parliamentary elections in Georgia the topic of Georgian-Ossetian relations, one way or another, was tried to be used mainly in the context of internal political pre-election struggle. It is absolutely clear, and we understand it perfectly well that the prospect of establishing relations cannot depend on the political situation in Georgia at a certain moment or a particular election cycle, - specified in the Foreign Ministry.
It should be noted that more than a month after the elections no action was taken by the ruling party. On the whole, such steps can be considered purely as an advertising campaign before the vote, said Vadim Mukhanov, head of the Caucasus sector of the IMEMO RAS.
- The words of the head of the ruling party are purely an electoral track. There are unlikely to be any steps on their part in the near future. It was a step exclusively for internal audience to criticize the previous government. Recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is the red line beyond which Georgian society is not ready to go," he says.
Nikolai Silaev believes that these words can still be considered as an important shift in relations between the sides. But at the moment Georgia has a lot of "housekeeping" to do: the ruling party needs to convene parliament and negotiate with the opposition after the elections. Therefore, in the near future they will not be engaged in the settlement of relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However, warming is still possible in the future, the expert concluded.
On the night of August 8, 2008 an armed conflict broke out between Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian army attacked Tskhinvali. Russian peacekeepers in the city also came under fire. In response, the Russian Federation introduced troops to protect Russian citizens living in the region, and ships of the Black Sea Fleet approached the shores of Abkhazia.
As a result of the "five-day war", which ended with the defeat of Georgian troops, Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Because of this, Tbilisi broke off diplomatic relations with Russia. Georgia later claimed that it was going to peacefully restore the territorial integrity of the country. At the same time, Tbilisi calls the current status of the republics an occupation.
