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Agreement on non-use of force in South Caucasus unlikely to be adopted — diplomat

"It will depend on the outcome of Georgia’s presidential election," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said

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GENEVA, October 10. /TASS/. A joint statement on the non-use of force is unlikely to be signed by all participants in the Geneva Discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, State Secretary Grigory Karasin told TASS after a regular round of Geneva Discussions on Wednesday.

"Due to a pre-electoral situation in Georgia, the Georgians have again said that they would opt for this statement, in case it stipulates certain conditions and mechanisms of implementation," the diplomat said. "So the statement is unlikely at this stage."

"We have agreed to continue discussions on this issue. Perhaps, the work will go easier in December when a next round of discussions will be held," the deputy foreign minister said. "We will see. It will depend on the outcome of Georgia’s presidential election."

Geneva Discussions

The Geneva Discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus are the only platform for a dialogue between Georgia and the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. They are held under the auspices of the UN, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with participation of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Georgia, Russia and the United States.

The Geneva Discussions were held upon agreements reached by the Russian and French presidents after tragic events in August 2008 in South Ossetia when Georgia attacked it. That entailed Russia's peacemaking operation in the region. Afterwards, Moscow recognized independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia's allies Nicaragua and Venezuela followed the suit, as did a number of small Pacific island states.

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