Another IPRM meeting ends without outcomes in Ergneti

Technical meeting of Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in Ergneti (IPRM), near the occupied Tskhinvali region yesterday was the seventh in the last two months. With the mediation of the EU mission, the pre-agreed agenda included the de-escalation of the situation in Chorchana-Tsnelisi.

The Deputy Head of Information-analytical Department of the State Security Service of Georgia Irakli Antadze told journalists that the meeting would focus on the closing of crossing points along the administrative boundary line (ABL) with so-called South Ossetia.

“Today’s technical meeting will be devoted to the developments near the Chorchana village and the provocative activities of the occupation forces. Also, all the negative processes that the occupation forces have linked to this event, in particular, the issue of closing down the so-called crossing points,” said Antadze.

Prior to the meeting in Ergneti, Tskhinvali de facto government representative Egor Kochiev said that the only way to deal with the situation was to remove the Georgian police checkpoint near Chorchana.

According to Antadze, the issue of detention of citizens along the occupation line was going to be raised at the meeting.

Representatives of the Russian occupation forces have arrested three people in last week for crossing the so-called border. Two of them are still in custody.

At the meeting, Tskhinvali's de-facto government representatives called for the removal of the Georgian police checkpoint near Chorchana village in Khashuri municipality, which was rejected by the Georgian central government.

Antadze told reporters that he expected Tskhinvali representatives to have had more constructive position, “but the positions remained unchanged.”

“Once again we have made suggestions that would help normalize the situation, but the positions did not coincide,” Antadze said. “First of all, this implies that the situation must be de-escalated and that the main guarantee of this is the presence of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) on the ground and full realization of its mandate. This is a guarantee that local people will be protected,” he told Radio Liberty.

The Georgian side called for the reopening of the so-called border near the Akhalgori region, which was closed down on September 4, which the de facto authorities opposed. The only thing that the sides agreed upon was to continue the dialogue.

The de facto authorities of the Tskhinvali region, occupied by Russia, have been consistently accusing the Georgian government for the past few weeks of provocations and attempts to escalate tensions. Among them, on November 6, they released information on shooting along the so-called border. EUMM denies such reports.

Maja Kocijancic, the Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the EU issued a statement on November 10 regarding the rising tensions along ABL and called for the consistent use of all necessary mechanisms that are in place.

“The European Union calls on all relevant actors to show maximum restraint and refrain from any steps or statements that could escalate the situation. Instead, mechanisms put in place to prevent incidents and find solutions - such as the Hotline, the IPRM and Geneva International Discussions - must be consistently used. In addition, crossing points closed since early September should be reopened without delay. All these represent the best way for finding solutions to current security, humanitarian and other problems caused by the situation along the ABL,” reads the statement.

The Spokesperson also acknowledged the significance of the EUMM as the only international presence on the ground that plays a key role in stabilizing the situation.

“The attempts from within South Ossetia, both in action and through statements, to prevent the Mission’s work and restrict its mandate are deplorable and must stop,” underscores the statement.

The Co-Chairs of the Geneva International Discussions have also called for immediate re-opening of the crossing points last week. “The ongoing closure of crossing points is aggravating an already difficult situation, as illustrated by recent medical cases, with a severe impact on the local conflict-affected population,” says the special statement.

US Charge d'Affaires to Georgia Elizabeth Rood also expressed her concerns with reporters on Tuesday.

"We remain deeply concerned about the developments at the administrative boundary line of Tskhinvali/South Ossetia’s region of Georgia. There is an increase of incidents in recent times and two more people were detained at the administrative border. Of course, we will focus on this issue and this issue will be discussed at the next meeting of Geneva discussions,” said Rood.

The situation in Chorchana-Tsnelisi has been tense since late August. After the occupation regime demanded from the Georgian authorities to close the lawfully opened police checkpoint near the village of Chorchana in Khashuri municipality.

After the refusal, the occupation forces opened two so-called ‘border checkpoints’ near the border village of Tsnelisi, on the territory controlled by the central government of Georgia.

In addition, the de-facto authorities closed the crossing points with the Akhalgori and Sachkhere districts. In the occupied district of Akhalgori, the closure of the road connecting it with the rest of Georgia resulted in a humanitarian crisis.