Experts meet in wartorn village to address de-facto Tskhinvali related problems
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, January 28
Conflict resolution experts descended in the eastern Georgian village of Ergneti to discuss issues that are plaguing the troubled region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and its adjacent areas.
Freedom of movement and access to land were high on the agenda at last week’s 62nd meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) group in Ergneti, facilitated by the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM).
The EUMM, which is the only international mission monitoring situation between Georgia and its occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, announced that attendants discussed a wide range of challenges faced by local communities living along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between Georgia and Tskhinvali.
During the meeting, the foreign experts praised the calm security situation in the area and the willingness of stakeholders to jointly address security concerns by effectively using the hotline launched by the EUMM to support the everyday life of the local population.
According to the EUMM, the participants of the meeting also welcomed the new co-facilitator of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ambassador Guenther Baechler, who was appointed on January 1 2016 as the Special Representative for the South Caucasus by the German Chairmanship of the OSCE, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The IPRM of the EUMM is an unarmed civilian monitoring mission established by the European Union (EU) on September 15 2008, to contribute to the stabilisation of the situation on the ground following the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.
The next, 63rd IPRM meeting will take place on February 24.
