OSCE chief attends meeting of Tbilisi, Tskhinval representatives in Ergneti village

The Chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Sebastian Kurz on Friday attended a meeting of Tbilisi and Tskhinval representatives held in the Georgian village of Ergneti (on the border with South Ossetia) in the framework of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM).

The meeting was held behind closed doors, with Kurz leaving after 15 minutes.

It is not easy to achieve progress and the main goal is to help people, improve their living conditions, and this is where OSCE representatives are helping them, Kurz told journalists after the meeting.

He noted that it was important for him to become familiar with the situation, and refrained from further comment, citing lack of time.

Kurz was present at the meeting as a special guest, the Georgian State Security Service told journalists.

The meeting focused on the incidents recorded since the last meeting, the Service said. Georgia renewed its demand regarding the release of the arrested Georgian citizen Giorgi Giunashvili. The attendees also considered problems facing the local population because of the border fences and other barriers erected on the South Ossetian side, the Security Service said.

For his part, David Sanakoyev, head of the South Ossetian delegation and state advisor to the president of South Ossetia, said that Kurz' attendance at today's IPRM meeting "goes to show that both the OSCE and other international organizations, with which we normally cooperate, are attaching huge importance to the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms."

The attendees discussed the issue relating to delimitation and demarcation of the state border between South Ossetia and Georgia, Sanakoyev said. "We designate this issue from the viewpoint of addressing the humanitarian issues faced by Georgian and South Ossetian citizens living in the border areas," he said.

For their part, the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia told Interfax that the 74th IPRM meeting attendees described the situation as generally quiet and noted a drop in arrests on the administrative border.

The parties also discussed current issues relating to the forthcoming spring agricultural season, according to the EUMM.

The next IPRM meeting is due to be held on March 2, 2017.