“The Geneva process is in crisis. We have a difficult situation over number of parameters. Let’s not make any conclusions yet, but we need to talk seriously in order to understand whether we are going in the right direction or not and whether we need any changes in the format or not,” Foreign minister of Abkhazia, Vyacheslav Chirikba stated this touching upon the efficiency of the Geneva Talks.
“We are not satisfied with the format of [Geneva] meetings; it has to be changed, because it limits our decisions. We cannot decide anything in this vicious format,” Chirikba said as reports civil.ge.
Details of what specifically Sokhumi wants to change in the format were not reported. Geneva talks, launched after the August 2008 war, are held in the format of two working groups with the first one discussing security-related issues and the second one – humanitarian issues. Talks, co-chaired by EU, UN and OSCE representatives, involve negotiators, or as they are formally called “participants”, from Georgia, Russia and the United States, as well as from Sokhumi and Tskhinvali. The next, twenty first round of Geneva talks are planned in October.
