Geneva talks to be snubbed by Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali regime representatives will not participate in the Geneva talks' second working group. A statement regarding the issue was made by the regime representatives on July 6.

The de facto regime representatives have related the decision with the UN resolution on the return of IDPs to Georgian occupied territories. As they have mentioned, the Georgian side is trying to politicize the IDP's problems but the resolution, they say, will impose no change.

The Georgian side has responded and the MP, Petre Tsiskrishvili, has connected the fact with an attempt of Russia to derail the Geneva talks by using its puppet regimes , "they have done their best to disturb the adopting of such documents by the UN, however they have failed and now they are trying to derail the talks and create obstacles in the process."

As opposition MP, Guram Chakhvadze mentioned, Geneva talks are the instrument, in the frames of which the resolution should be realized, "the resolution was made and it was also decided that in the frames of the Geneva talks practical steps for its carrying out should be made, thus the Geneva talks should be the instrument for practical realization of the resolution."

As analyst Malkhaz Chemia stated for The Messenger, even if Tskhinvali regime participated in the negotiations in the frames of the Geneva talks, the real outcome and positive moves in the direction of IDPs would be less possible, " the fact that Tskhinvali regime refused to participate in the talks is the sign, of course, that Russia is against their participation in it, however even in the event that they took part in it, nothing real and positive would be possible. As the Geneva talks are some kind of formal instrument, however even such kind of formal collaboration and negotiations are needed, as without it there will not be contact between the sides at all." The analyst is also pessimistic regarding the resolution and considers that this resolution would not bring any positives for our IDPs. He also explained the main reason for this and stated that the main reason why this document would not be realized is that some international organizations are not interested in it, " if they are, there would necessarily be raised the issue of ethic cleansing in the Georgian regions. NATO made some appeals towards Russia regarding IDPs returning to the occupied region, however that appeal was more formal than real."

The UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution on the right of return of all IDPs from Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to their homes. 57 UN member states voted for with 13 states against and 74 abstentions for a Georgia-initiated document, which has already been passed three times at the UN General Assembly in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Compared to last year’s voting the document received 7 more votes for on Wednesday’s voting.

The resolution reiterates the right of all IDPs and their offspring, regardless of their ethnicity to return to their homes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The UN General Assembly has said that there is a need to make a schedule of IDPs’ voluntary, secure, honorable and unhindered return to their homes in Georgia’s breakaway regions. The resolution calls on the sides to respect the property rights of the IDPs and abstain from buying the legal property of the IDPs through violation of this right.