MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Georgia’s confrontation propaganda against Russia affects the atmosphere of the Geneva Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, on the eve of another round of the Discussions due on March 22-23.
"We believe it important that all parties to the Discussions consider unbiasedly positions of the Abkhaz and South Ossetian delegations, which, as much as we know, are of practical character," the ministry said.
"The period before the current round of the Geneva Discussions is characterized by active anti-Russian attacks from official Tbilisi," the foreign affairs authority said. "At a recent visit of Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin with the Georgian prime minister envoy Zurab Abashidze in Prague we called on the counterparts to observe limits in their PR exercises to avoid damage for the process of bringing to normal the bilateral relations."
"Not less damaging is the Georgian confrontation propaganda for the atmosphere of the Geneva Discussions," the foreign ministry said. "In this context, we have to point to the quarterly reports issued at the Georgian foreign ministry ‘on the situation with human rights at the occupied territories,’ which are based mostly on juggling with facts and on clear blackmailing of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia."
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- State border treaty between Russia, South Ossetia submitted to Putin for ratification
The Russian foreign ministry expressed hope parties to the Geneva Discussions, including the delegation of Georgia, would make this upcoming meeting "constructive and interested in realistic results, on which in the long run depends success of the round, and of the entire Geneva process."
The foreign ministry said the key objective of the Geneva Discussions on Transcaucasia, in compliance with the Russia-France agreements of 2008, is to provide strong security of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"Thus, the Russian delegation once again will attract attention to the earlier initiatives to have legally binding documents on non-use of force between the Republic of Abkhazia and Georgia, between the Republic of South Ossetia and Georgia," the Russian ministry said. "Now continue discussions of the draft statements by all parties to the Geneva process on non-use of force as an intermediate step on the way towards bilateral peace agreements."
The Geneva International Discussions on Security and Stability in Transcaucasia are held under the auspices of the UN, EU and OSCE, with the participation of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the United States and South Ossetia. They are the only platform for dialogue between Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Georgia. They are held on the basis of agreements between the presidents of Russia and France, reached after the events of August 2008, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, prompting Russia to send troops to the region. Shortly thereafter, Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.