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PM says OSCE’s role in Geneva international talks is crucial

By Tatia Megeneishvili
Monday, February 29
Prime Minister (PM) Giorgi Kvirikashvili believes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) role in protecting Georgia from security threats is “very important”.

The PM said this to an OSCE Special Representative in the South Caucasus, Gunter Behler, several days ago when he met with him at the Government of Georgia Administration building in Tbilisi.

The PM stressed that the OSCE's participation in the Geneva Internationals Talks and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), which addressed problematic issues in and around Georgia’s occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), was crucial for ensuring security for Georgia.

Kvirikashvili and Behler also spoke about regional security threats and the current situation in the villages located near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with Tskhinvali.

The Geneva Talks international format was launched after the August war in 2008. The talks are co-chaired by representatives from the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) and OSCE and are held in two working groups – one addressing security issues on the ground, among them international security arrangements and the non-use of force, and another addressing humanitarian issues.

Before taking up his current role, Behler served as Swiss Ambassador to Georgia.